Wednesday, October 7, 2026

Again, Incredible Wells -- XTO Baptiste Federal Wells In Hofflund -- October 7, 2026

Locator: 51883BAPTISTE. 

A seven-well pad in Hofflund oil field. 

The wells:

  • 41551, F/A, XTO, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11B, Hofflund, t5/26; cum 207K 8/26; 
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN8-2026315702957014152578414783843294
BAKKEN7-2026314992350163139887230372121182
BAKKEN6-20263056337562141607180024784041620
BAKKEN5-2026194364243385163906408263476606
BAKKEN4-202646948763112001120

  • 41549, F/A, XTO, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11D, Hofflund, t5/26; cum 228K 8/26;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN8-2026315456754544151627679976516274
BAKKEN7-2026314539945669134856347463315159
BAKKEN6-20263058422584441727980288787671521
BAKKEN5-2026316871868617162859878297862920
BAKKEN4-20267109876131064300430

  • 41550, F/A, XTO, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11E, Hofflund, t5/26; cum 208K 8/26;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN8-2026314401343999141135912058905208
BAKKEN7-2026313778838072133185054650420126
BAKKEN6-20263057042570721610874817734051412
BAKKEN5-2026316843768329161389079289951841
BAKKEN4-20267106974121624910491
  • 41552, F/A, XTO, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11G, Hofflund, t6/26; cum 145K 8/26;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN8-2026315700856983305988414483832302
BAKKEN7-2026314681646956236356779067619171
BAKKEN6-20262940864405732129862038606181420
BAKKEN5-202600600000
BAKKEN4-202651961362266128901289
  • 41553, F/A, XTO, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11C, Hofflund, t5/26; cum 202K 8/26; 
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN8-2026315837358375230289092090602307
BAKKEN7-2026315666456920224478617485956218
BAKKEN6-20263061717614422557191625896561969
BAKKEN5-20261725801256371825140574393671207
BAKKEN4-2026200155000
  • 41554, F/A, XTO, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11H, Hofflund, t5/26; cum 124K 8/26;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN8-2026316275262741306129337893044323
BAKKEN7-2026315658356434277398440183967434
BAKKEN6-2026647444710255366786524154
BAKKEN5-202600330000
BAKKEN4-20264107741089147701477

  • 40921, F/A, XTO, HBU Baptiste Federal 34X-11A, Hofflund, t5/26; cum 220K 8/26;
PoolDateDaysBBLS OilRunsBBLS WaterMCF ProdMCF SoldVent/Flare
BAKKEN8-2026314944149441133167192971678242
BAKKEN7-2026314735147610135126857968406173
BAKKEN6-20263057864578661562181311797681543
BAKKEN5-2026286502464610181649394693056890
BAKKEN4-202640016027400740

The maps: 


 

Thursday Morning -- October 7, 2026

Locator: 51882B. 

 AAPL: 

 *****************************
Back to the Bakken

WTI: $89.27.

New wells reporting:

  • Friday, October 9, 2026: 14 for the month, 14 for the quarter, 513 for the year, 
    • 41914, conf, Devon Energy, Scha 33-34 6H, 
  • Thursday, October 8, 2026: 13 for the month, 13 for the quarter, 512 for the year,  
    • 42233, conf, Whiting, Cliffside Federal 5103 41-7 5B, 
    • 41485, conf, Devon Energy, Barbara 31-30F 3H, 

RBN Energy: EU to miss overall natural gas storage target, mostly due to German shortfall. Link here. Archived.

As summer has progressed into fall, the trade press has become increasingly skeptical about whether  Europe can adequately replenish its underground natural gas reserves in the wake of a colder-than-expected winter, which was followed by the loss of LNG supply due to the Persian Gulf conflict. The European gas year started on October 1 and European Union (EU) underground gas storage facilities are just over 70% full and growing slowly, to the extent that Europe cannot meet its storage targets. In today’s RBN blog, we explain why Europe, and Germany specifically, finds itself in a precarious situation and look at what might be done.

First, the statistics on overall EU gas storage are striking but do not tell the full story. The shortage resides primarily with Germany, which boasts 22% of the EU’s total gas storage capacity but where gas stocks are only 59% full. Removing Germany’s storage capacity from the EU total shows that storage levels across the remaining 26 nations are 80% full, which is not immediately concerning. (As we noted in Out of Gas, the EU aims to have inventories 90% full by November 1 each year. The target was established in 2022 in response to the Russian gas crisis and the extremely low inventories of 2021. Because of high costs and market constraints, the EU decided in April to relax its November 1 target to 80%.) However, Germany’s storage position remains delicate, with storage levels since April (red line in Figure 1 below) well below the previous year (blue line) and the normal range from October 2018 to September 2021 (gray-shaded area), the last full gas years before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in early 2022.

The Book Page -- October 7, 2026

Locator: 51881ARCHIVES.

Apollo programmer, age 90, has died. Link here. 

Shay:

Micron: link here --  

SpaceX:

*****************************
The Book Page

Tonight's reading is Stephen Witt's 2025 biography of Jensen Huang. My notes are kept here for that book.

My notes here, link here. Link: https://share.google/aimode/bu9MySv2HwwIn7oRw.  

The AI neural network's "DNA moment" (1953) occurred at the ImageNet contest, Florence, Italy, 2012.  

**************************
Investing

See disclaimer.  

From Yahoo!Invest today. The author writes that "60/40" is becoming popular again. Say what? I'm hearing the same thing on CNBC -- seasoned Wall Street analysts are getting nervous about 500% gains in the stock market and telling viewers it's safe to get back into bonds and gain a safe 5% return with inflation running only 3%. Oh, give me a break. From Yahoo!Invest today: 

It seems almost quaint to talk about the halcyon days of 2023 when investors mused about the stock market's top-heaviness. 

At the time, Wall Street viewed this like another moment in market history in which the day's corporate juggernauts ballooned amid their success for a while before rotating down the ladder as the next thing came along. Index owners, meanwhile, would enjoy the winnings without stressing too much about who was rotating in and out.

Such is the beauty of diversification.

But as the stock market notches a fresh record close (congratulations, everyone), Nvidia (NVDA), Apple (AAPL), and Microsoft (MSFT) represent more than a fifth of the S&P 500, over 21%. As our Brian Sozzi noted, this makes the Exxon/IBM/AT&T era look pedestrian.

The tech titans are literally behaving like the Greek Titan Atlas (the NBC Rockefeller Center statue in the "30 Rock" opening), carrying much of the market's weight and fortunes on their corporate shoulders.

Even if the numbers look a little scary, the same thing is still happening as in 2023, just even more so. A period of technological innovation is benefiting a few industries that are propping everything up.

In the long run, the same philosophy espoused by Jack Bogle and Warren Buffett that thrust the S&P 500 into investors' portfolios hasn't gone anywhere — nor has the advice that recommends having six months of living expenses liquid (a number that has risen with inflation).

But in the meantime, it's not hard to see why the 60/40 portfolio is suddenly becoming popular once again.

Not for me. 

See disclaimer.  

Three New Permits; Two Permits Canceled; Two DUCs Reported As Completed -- October 7, 2026

Locator: 51880B.

WTI: $89.01.

Actual rigs: 33.

Three new permits, #43385 - #43387, inclusive:

  • Operator: Oasis
  • Field: Murphy Creek (Dunn County)
  • Comments:
    • Oasis has permits for three Lovegood Federal wells, SWSE 19-245-95, 
      • to be sited 785 FSL and 2235 / 2274 FEL. 

Two permits canceled:

  • BR: a Demicks Lake permit and a Clemens permit, both in McKenzie County.

Two producing wells (DUCs) reported as completed:

  • 41816, 520, BR, Rolla 6C, McKenzie County;
  • 41819, 753, BR, Rolla 6E, McKenzie County.

Tuesday, October 6, 2026

Another Sign That Things Are Changing -- So Many Story Lines -- October 6, 2026

Locator: 51879AMAZON.

The biggest story line -- their market caps:

  • Comcast: $76 billion
  • SKYD: $8 billion
  • Amazon: $2.8 trillion