The Crude Life Morning Show: Play Hard Work Hard Episode 16
Daily Rig Count
source: tradingeconomics.com
HOUR ONE PLAY HARD: Jason Spiess and Sterling are doing their best this morning as Jason ate Indian food over the weekend and the air is so pungent at times, Fracleberry Hound left the room.
President Biden’s public “War on Oil” is discussed in the first segment and whether 2021 will be the year “Defined by Defection”. Will industry employees remain loyal to the industry with salary reductions, layoffs and industry leaders being less accessible to the public. Or will industry employees listen to President Biden and John Kerry and go build solar panels.
If the government controls the marketplace and eliminates the free market, while allowing a system to continue where merit of work no longer matters, will this be the year “Defined by Defection”?
The two discuss why leadership is leading and national conversation to start a new push to end fossil fuels. Jason opines that President Biden is showing “rank prejudice” and endorsing “state-sponsored social shaming” towards oil and gas professionals. Jason believes there is an attempt to limit the national discussion in order to “pit the pitchforks against the torches”.
The Play Hard segment also attempts to wrap their mind around where leaders are exerting energy these days. For example, if over 90% of our daily lives rely on petroleum products and if even a reduction of 20% were to happen over the next 20-years, that would be very aggressive.
Jason gave examples of the Moon Landing, Hoover Dam and Manhattan Project as the closest comparison in terms of a giant science project, however, as he points out, none of those projects required massive social or personal changes to society.
Other topics in the segment include Tony Snow, Dana Perino, Vizslas, controlling the narrative, Climate Change activism, Super Bowl skits and whether the Matt Stafford/Jared Goff trade was more about the failure of a template or model rather than the talent.
Jason also asks the question if the government isn’t just shaming the oil and gas industry into a NIMBY world – Not In My Back Yard – in meaning, will oil and gas be primarily drilled in the deep sea and remote land locations. Out of sight, out of mind.
During the News, Rumors and Newspeak segment, Jason was caught off guard, and extremely offended, by the new title “Climate Envoy” given to John Kerry.
He added that climate activists should be applauding new pipelines and protesting old pipelines, bridges and roads need repair if they want to exert protests for change.
News, Rumors and Newspeak
Exxon, Chevron CEOs Discussed Merger Last Year, DJ Says
The chief executive officers of Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. spoke last year about combining the two largest U.S. oil companies, Dow Jones reported, citing people familiar with the talks.
Chevron’s Mike Wirth and Exxon’s Darren Woods spoke as the Covid-19 outbreak hurt oil and gas demand, adding financial strain to both companies, Dow Jones said. The talks were described as preliminary and aren’t ongoing, the news services said, adding that the discussions could be brought back in the future.
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Biden Opens New Fronts In His War On U.S. Oil And Gas
The attacks on the domestic oil and gas business by the Biden/Harris administration are coming at such a rapid pace now that it’s hard to keep up with them all, which of course is a part of the overall strategy at play. What better way to cripple a major American industry, after all, than for the national government to overwhelm its ability to adequately respond?
Wednesday alone saw the opening of several new fronts in the war, as well as new efforts to justify and gloss over those that had come previously.
Lawsuit claims Subway’s tuna sandwiches contain no tuna
A class action lawsuit filed last week in California accuses Subway, the Connecticut-based fast food giant, of fraud and false advertising over the content of its tuna sandwiches, which the suit claims is an “entirely non-tuna based mixture that Defendants blended to resemble tuna and imitate its texture.”
Subway denied the allegations, telling NBC News in a statement it “delivers 100% cooked tuna to its restaurants, which is mixed with mayonnaise and used in freshly made sandwiches, wraps.”
The Super Bowl Numbers Board is all FILLED UP! Keep an eye out for the number selection show!
In HOUR TWO we WORK HARD with our Newsmaker Interview: Kunal Patel, Federal Reserve of Dallas
Activity in the oil and gas sector jumped in fourth quarter 2020, according to oil and gas executives responding to the Dallas Fed Energy Survey. The business activity index—the survey’s broadest measure of conditions facing Eleventh District energy firms—moved into positive territory, rising from -6.6 in the third quarter to 18.5 in the fourth quarter. This is the first positive reading for the business activity index since first quarter 2019, with the increase driven by both E&P and oilfield services firms.
According to E&P executives, oil production stabilized after three quarters of decline, with the index rising from -15.4 to 1.0 in the fourth quarter. The natural gas production index increased eight points to -2.1. The near-zero readings for both indexes indicate oil and gas production was fairly flat in the fourth quarter.
The index for capital expenditures by E&P firms moved into positive territory at 12.5, up from -16.4 in the third quarter, indicating an increase in capital spending. Meanwhile, the index for capital expenditures by oilfield services firms increased but remained negative, rising from -35.1 to -6.2. This suggests that, while capital spending continued to decline, the pace of decline slowed notably in the fourth quarter.
Oilfield services firms saw improvement in some indicators. The equipment utilization index pushed into positive territory, jumping 25 points to 6.4 in the fourth quarter. This was the first positive reading since second quarter 2019. However, operating margins continued to decline, with the index holding fairly steady at -31.9. The index of prices received for services remained negative and edged lower, from -26.4 to -29.7. The index for input costs remained negative but ticked higher, from -9.5 to -4.3.
Employment continued to decline, but layoffs abated somewhat. The aggregate employment index posted a seventh consecutive negative reading but moved up from -18.1 to -11.7. The index of aggregate employee hours worked also remained negative but increased from -15.3 to -6.9, and the index for aggregate wages and benefits edged up from -19.4 to -12.4.
Six-month outlooks improved notably, with the index rising from 1.9 last quarter to 21.6. This is a stark recovery from the significantly negative readings in first and second quarter 2020. Additionally, firms noted less uncertainty around their outlook this quarter than last; the aggregate uncertainty index fell 31 points to -13.8. This is the lowest reading for the uncertainty index since its inception in first quarter 2017.
On average, respondents expect a West Texas Intermediate (WTI) oil price of $50 per barrel by year-end 2021; responses ranged from $35 to $70 per barrel. Survey participants expect Henry Hub natural gas prices of $2.76 per million British thermal units (MMBtu) at year-end. For reference, WTI spot prices averaged $47 per barrel during the survey collection period, and Henry Hub spot prices averaged $2.60 per MMBtu.
The Crude Life Daily News Update for the Radio on The Podcast
Sponsors, Music and Other Show Notes
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Featured Music: Moody River Band
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