Locator: 49680ORACLE.
Beth:
Shay:
App Economy Insights:
Beth:
Shay:
Wednesday, December 10, 2025
NextEra Energy -- Basin Electric Exploring Joint Venture In North Dakota -- December 10, 2025
Locator: 49678ND.
Basin Electric Power Cooperative and NextEra Energy Resources have signed an agreement to explore building a natural gas-fueled generation facility in North Dakota.
The project would support a multi-gigawatt data center campus in the western part of the state.
The proposed facility is called the River Run Energy Center. It would have a capacity of about 1,450 megawatts and could be operational by 2030.
The article has a lot more datapoints, including:
- NextEra Energy Resources has invested more than $3.7 billion in North Dakota energy infrastructure since 2003.
- Basin Electric is a member-owned cooperative based in Bismarck. It generates and transmits electricity to 140-member rural electric systems across nine states. Those systems serve about three million consumers.
- About a year ago, Basin Electric announced plans for a similar facility near Epping in Williams County. That project is expected to be operational within five years.
North Dakota -- especially northwest North Dakota -- is going to look a whole different than when I was growing up there.
The Bakken -- December 10, 2025
Locator: 49677B.
This is a good example of what they're doing in the Bakken right now:
- multi-well pads -- see spreadsheet below;
- Tier 1 and Tier 2 locations (with some exceptions -- Tier 2 and Tier 3, particularly one operator which will remain unnamed); and,
- 3-mile laterals:
New permits, calendar year, 2025: that third Vanville permit today, is oil and gas permit #1082 for calendar year 2025. The number of NDIC file numbers / permits in calendar year 2025 to date will be more than 1,082, but the NDIC includes SWDs (salt water disposal wells) among total permits issued). It's my impression that of the 1,000 new permits, the operators will spud about 750 wells in calendar year 2025, with many of those spuds related to permits issued in 2024.
WTI: $58.46.
Active rigs: 27 -- a recent low. Heading into winter.
Three new permits, #42550 - #42552, inclusive:
- Operator: Hunt Oil
- Field: Thompson Lake (Burke County)
- Comments:
- Hunt Oil has permits for three more Vanville wells, SWSE 35-160-91,
- to be sited 261/321 FSL and 2304 FEL.
One permit renewed:
- 41416, Murex, MK-Naomi Lee, Gooseneck, Divide County.
Seven permits canceled:
- CLR (4): four Jean Nelson permits, Mountrail County;
- Spotted Hawk (3): a Zeta permit, a Narcissus permit, and a Delta permit, all in McLean County;
Three producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:
- 41427, 1,799, EOG, Mandaree 49-2008H, McKenzie County;
- 41428, 897, EOG, Bear Den 62-2016H, McKenzie County;
- 41430, 885, EOG, Bear Den 60-2019H, McKenzie County;
Well of interest:
- 18594, 105, EOG, Mandaree 7-17H, Phaelens Butte, t9/10; cum 239K 10/25; was off line 9/24 - 8/25; back on line as of 9/25; not much of a jump in production; all in all not particularly remarkable; we will have to wait to see how the new wells do.
Fed Day -- December 10, 2025
Locator: 49676THEFED.
Updates
December 11, 2025: Cramer -- it's a green light to buy stocks from now to the end of the year. Tells investors to quit talking about the "next Fed vote." Analyze yesterday's "Fed cut": we're still in a period of easy money. Can't disagree. See graphic below the fold, Fed rate history.
December 11, 2025: Forbes daily -- "the Fed cut" -- "third time's a charm.
Original Post
Sphinx .... Oracle of Delphi ... Oracle of Omaha .... the Fed.
Productivity has been rising at about 2% for "decades" per Fed chairman.
Fact check:
Disinflation is being seen in the services industry. Services accounts for two-thirds of the US economy.
Dow: up significantly after the Fed chairman's comments, after cutting 25 basis points -- up 460 points, not over 48,000. Trending in such a way that the Dow could rise more than 500 points before the close. And it did, now up over 525 points.
S&P 500: up 47 points -- trading at 6,888.
NASDAQ: up 83 points -- trading at 23,660.
If this is not a Santa Claus rally, I do not know what is.
***************************
BRK
On a day that the Fed cuts rates and the Dow surges, as well as the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ, for all practical purposes, BRK-B is down again.
Up seven cents / share on a day the markets surge. Including energy -- with one huge exception -- natural gas carriers (OKE, LNG, and VG). WMB is down almost 2%. SRE is up very slightly. ENB is down more than 1% and EPD is down a quarter percent. Meanwhile the oils / integrated are doing great, each up about 2% (CVX, COP, PSX). Valero and MPC are up 1% and half-a-percent, respectively. OKLO is down 2% -- this certainly seems to comfort those who are worried about energy costs for AI infrrastructure.
AAPL is up about 3/4ths of a percent, over $2 / share. AVGO is up another 1.25% while ORCL is flat. Oracle reports after the close today.
Both Chubb and BRK-B were down today. Chubb was down over 1.5% (down almost $5/share) and BRK-B was down $1/share, back down to $490. I'm so glad I spent three hours with ChatGPT discussing BRK, Chubb, and global insurance. After that discussion it all makes sense why BRK, Chubb, and insurance companies in general would be down today.
UNP, a proxy for BNSF, was up over 1.5% (up $3.90/share today) and AAPL was up half-a-percent, up $1.60/share.
The GE Vernova story is telling. GE Vernova's share price jumped 15% after CEO's remarks today, and the doubling of the dividend. Did you catch that: GE Vernova double its dividend.
GE Vernova is all about natural gas powering AI.
I was curious so I asked Charlie:
AI prompt:
Back to powering AI data centers, etc. GE Vernova is all about powering AI data centers with a focus on natural gas right now and looking to nuclear later. Against that data point, BRK is probably one of the largest power (electricity) suppliers in the US, and is huge into natural gas properties (think OXY). In some ways, BRK is #1 in insurance but is very, very will situated for supplying electricity to the AI buildout. So what gives? How can GE Vernova double its dividend and see its share price JUMP 15% IN ONE DAY! What gives? Where does BRK stand with regard to GE Vernova and its involvement with the AI buildout? Where is BRK with all its energy holdings compared to well-known power companies like NextEra Energy and Duke, etc.
Extremely interesting. Almost comparing apples to oranges. I didn't ask Charlie where he would put his/her/its money if he/she/it were an investor, but my takeaway is this:
- for me, I'm not starting any new position in any ticker without selling something else (I can only track so much);
- BRK is a stead-Eddy and remains a solid, steady investment for me as much as I am disappointed in what Berkshire is doing now; and,
- validate my feelings that AI is not a bubble (when GE Vernova jumps 15% in one day), and invest accordingly.
Charlie really lays out the BRK story versus the GE Vernova story very, very well. Makes me feel very, very comfortable with BRK.
On a completely different note, when one sees "a GE Vernova" double its dividend and sees its shares jump 15% in one day, one can be very disappointed / discouraged not to have "a GE Vernova" in one's portfolio when one was aware of the opportunity six months ago.
But, when I look at my overall portfolio and what I've been doing, I'm reminded that I should be quite happy. It's been an incredible year, but more importantly, it's been an incredible 30 years. No regrets. Some "what-ifs" but I try very, very hard to ignore "what-ifs" and simply move on.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)