Largest Cross-Border Natural Gas Pipeline (By Volume) To Be Operational Early This Summer -- April 19, 2019

Re-posting because it's making America great again. 

From SeekingAlpha:

TransCanada and IEnova's (Sempra Energy) Sur de Texas-Tuxpan pipeline to add U.S. natural gas export capacity to Mexico should come online by the end of June.

The Texas-to-Mexico pipeline had been expected to come online by mid-February but technical and other problems have delayed the project by more than a year.

Sur de Texas will connect with Enbridge's 2.6B cf/day Valley Crossing pipeline; once the entire pipeline system comes online, it will comprise the largest cross-border gas pipeline by volume.

Just In Time For Earth Day -- Hurricane Michael Upgraded To Category 5 -- April 19, 2019, Part 7

When I got this note from a reader earlier today, I thought it was a  joke or a hoax. After all, the science is settled. We know for a fact that the earth will be 2.3 degrees warmer on April 19, 2101, than it was on April 19, 2019.

But then we get this report. Six months after the event, "scientists" upgrade(d) Hurricane Michael to category 5. Apparently the "scientists" found evidence that the wind speed was 160 mph -- up from the 155 mph originally reported -- when the hurricane hit landfall.

Exactly 160 mph. Not 159.9 or 160.1 but exactly 160 mph. Amazing how that worked out, because to be categorized as a Category 5, need to hit 160 mph.

From the article:

Scientists made the determination after reviewing aircraft and surface winds, surface pressures, satellite intensity estimates and Doppler radar velocities, and a fudge factor based on the presidential approval rating.

I can't make this stuff up.

The reader who sent me this noted that the "upgrade" was just in time for Monday, April 22, 2019.

The significance of that date: that's Earth Day.

From The Wall Street Journal:

I assume if "they" can upgrade a hurricane six months after the fact, the Florida folks can manage a presidential recount two years after the fact, and declare Hillary the president. After all, she received the most "popular" votes. 

Using the word "popular" very, very loosely.

In Twelve Years Of Blogging, Don't Recall A Similar Story From Any Of The Wind Farms/Companies In North Dakota -- April 19, 2019, Part 6

... most likely I've missed those stories ....

April 19, 2019 -- Back To The Bakken

A problem the Bakken does not have: water.

The Permian. "The largest challenge to Permian field development. -- Rigzone. Data points:

• this is all about disposal
• even with 100 percent water re-use for completions, which is unlikely, the current salt water disposal infrastructure is expected to hit capacity in the near future
• trucking a major traffic problem in west Texas
• water disposal costs can account for a third of total lease operating expenses in the Permian
• water midstream space is “ripe” for mergers and acquisitions and revealed that it expects the pace of water-related infrastructure deals in the Permian to “pick up considerably” in 2019

That's disposal. What about frack water?

Back in January, Rystad Energy revealed that demand for frac water in the Permian exceeded the total U.S. demand of 2016. The company forecasted at the time that water demand in the Permian will likely surpass 2.5 billion barrels by 2020.

I've lost the bubble on this one, but I believe operators use four to five times the amount of sand to frack a well in the Permian compared to that used in the Bakken, and a corresponding increase in sand requires a corresponding increase in water.

Marathon has cracked the code on using less sand (and thus less water) in the Bakken.

By the way, no mention of earthquakes.

What We Do On The Weekends When Not Blogging About The Bakken;  video by Sophia, Ft Worth Stockyards (Texas)

April 19, 2019, T+7, Part 5 -- New York City's Population Dips For First Time In Over A Decade

It doesn't really matter whether the city's population dips. What's important is who's fleeing? If it's the rich and famous, NYC is in trouble.

So, let's see what The Wall Street Journal has to say.

International migration into New York City’s five boroughs tapered off, as more residents left, shrinking the city’s population in 2017 and 2018, according to U.S. Census Bureau numbers released Thursday.

New York’s population dropped 0.47% to 8.4 million by July 2018, compared with the previous year. Census officials previously estimated that New York’s population grew by about 7,000 in 2017, but revised figures show it actually dipped by about 38,000, a 0.45% decline from the prior year.

Officials with New York City’s Department of City Planning said it appeared that the city’s robust population expansion, fueled by new young residents, in the past decade appears to have begun its inevitable slowdown. Overall, the number of residents in the five boroughs grew by 2.7% from 2010 to 2018.

"Inevitable." Say what?

More from the story:

Net migration, the sum of all people moving in and out of the city, has also decreased in recent years. In 2011, that number increased by about 14,300, a reversal of a decadeslong downward trend. That number began to fall again in 2013 and shrank by about 87,000 in 2018, as the city reverted back to its previous trend, city planning officials said.

A few other major metro areas in the U.S. also reported declines. The Los Angeles metro area shrank by 0.1%, and Chicago declined by 0.2%. Pittsburgh and Cleveland also showed similar drop-offs.

Los Angeles County—the nation’s largest county, which includes the cities of Los Angeles, Long Beach and Pasadena—also posted losses in 2018 because of a slowdown in international migration and more residents leaving. The number of residents in the county dipped to 10.10 million, a 0.1% decline. The county’s population was essentially flat in 2017.

Wow, what a lousy story. Not one bit of analysis. 

Whatever. The "southern surge" will eventually turn things around for NYC, LA.

Note that "a few other major metro areas in the US" did not include any in Florida or Texas, two states with no state income tax.

Just saying.