Well, I'm just emphasizing Kae's Wexford Capital background. Wexford was the PE sponsoring the aborted 53 story office building in downtown Midland about 12 years ago. If it got built I thought it would look like Midland was giving the finger to all of West Texas. All the city council, chamber of commerce and local officials were high behind it. I told the husband of one of the school board members that I was going to call in to the local radio talk show and tell them that; "I had heard from a relative of the school board member that MISD was going to be the anchor tenant in the building" . He almost had a heart attack thinking about how fast that rumor would spread and the locals reaction to it. https://www.houstonarchitecture.com/topic/27750-53-story-office-tower-planned-for-midland/

I hear Kaes plays tennis!

https://ir.diamondbackenergy.com/investors/corporate-governance/management

Leading Permian companies by NG production: Permian counties ranked by NG flaring: Permian operators ranked by NG flared in the 8 counties that flare the most NG in the Permian: Total Permian gas produced v total Permian gas flared:

If this is more than readers want to see about gold and oil/commodities, just let me know. https://x.com/KingKong9888/status/1780972640741863563 https://www.investopedia.com/articles/forex/061115/yuan-vs-rmb-understanding-difference.asp

Joel,  Luke is telling us China's capital account is partially open via gold. A country's capital account:           represents the balance of payments with other countries, ·         tracks the changes in a country's assets and liabilities in a year, AND ·         informs others whether a country is an importer or exporter of capital. China’s manufacturing exports are at 30 highs which means their USD inflows are at 30 year highs. China/Chinese buy gold and oil. As China/Chines buy gold, gold’s price rises in CNY. China exports manufactured goods but must import oil, and other raw materials. Since 1973 or so, oil and gold were priced in USD. When China had to buy oil in USD and the oil price rose, the value of CNY dropped against the USD and oil was much more expensive to China/Chinese consumers.  China had to sell is foreign reserves held in USD to pay for oil. When those reserves are exhausted, China/Chinese had a CNY currency crisis. CNY collapses. If CNY rises in gold but gold is priced in USD and gold  doesn’t rise because the gold price is set in London, then the CYN falls in value to the USD which makes oil much more costly in CNY. If oil and gold rise in USD, then China has to sell its foreign currency reserves (USD) to pay for oil. When the FX reserves are exhausted, China can not import oil or other commodities and a currency crisis develops. Luke is saying that today, the marginal barrel of oil and marginal commodity ton is priced in CNY and gold. If CHY rises in value with the price of gold, then gold and CNY buys more oil and other commodities than in USD in the USA, GB or Europe. The USD falls in value to the CNY and Ruble and energy becomes more expensive to the USA/consumer. Biden has attempted to reduce oil prices by releasing oil from the SPR. Russia, KSA, Iran (Venezuela if it resurrects) etc. all accept CNY for oil and NG (Russia actually discounts the price of oil to China if payment is in gold. This discount in energy prices is a tremendous economic advantage for China. I am reading in other publications that the cost of reshoring manufacturing and building high tech plants and facilities is 5-6X greater in the USA  than the cost in China. BOOM! Luke says that gold is simply another form of capital. It gold has more value in China or Asia or Russia or KSA or Iran, then gold reserves in London/New York will move to new to new depository  destination in China and Moscow and elsewhere. If the pricing of gold and symbiotically oil/energy moves to China instead of London or New York then what will happen to the USD/CNY  or the USD/RUB or the USD/EUR relationship?   According to Luke, gold is the new currency for the BRICs. Energy will be priced in gold and the USD will be devalued to reflect this. This country is going to need every hydro carbon molecule it can get for its own capital account. This is why I think the Permian basin will be squeezed like a lemon or lime on a hot summer day. I hope I am at least half way correct and that this helps. I hope other readers understand it better than I do.  John

https://x.com/_EnergyRealist/status/1776652496708243750

https://x.com/SilverWolfAG/status/1778678251684085839

Anne, Thank you. I think there have been some differences in opinion of the OIP in the Barnett, but overall I think you are correct. About 18 months ago, a non-operator in an Ares Energy well in Ector Co. told me the Barnett was very thin and you had to be very careful to stay in the section but he thought their wells would cum 1MM BO. I asked, "you mean BOE?" and he said, No. Oil." Needless to say, I can't find the well on NOVI.

Mike already knows that I have been working on a Barnett project with a very well known petrophysicists. We moved on to other projects, because his evaluation could not put enough reserves in the acreage/well. Mike, I have been meaning to hollar at you but I have been busy. There has been a lot of promotion this year into the Permian Barnett and there will be a lot more. BUT . . . the primary area (Ector/Midland county boundary) is characterized by small, industrial, and commercial OFS businesses, and residential tracts consisting of single mobile homes, mobile home parks, very modest homes and very large homes. Almost all of the residential lots are fenced and the commercial industrial lots are paved. Coincidentally, this acreage is also in West Odessa, Tx. West Odessa I'm told, is the largest unincorporated area in Texas. And, I also know that it is home to the Texas militia and at least 2 mass shooters. No one knows how many people live in West Odessa. There are no city services provided except perhaps ambulances. And I haven't even started to talk about title issues in Ector County. Lets just say, to quote Alex Baldwin . . ."Its complicated". FANG has most of the Barnett acreage draped over the Ector/Midland County borders because of its acquisition of Firebird Energy in 2022. Most of this stuff looks HBP to me, nonetheless, FANG still has to locate well sites, pipelines and source water and SWD infrastructures and permit wells. It can be done, patiently. Which may account for the very few wells drilled and completed in the Barnett since the Firebird deal closed. You can faintly see the boundaries of the counties and Odessa is the SE part of Ector County. Looks like the Endeavor acquisition bolts on nicely with the Firebird acquisition. Good for FANG! The point here is that the most talked about Barnett acreage is not a 3-5 year drill and flip project even if the economics worked. I suspect that PDPs were booked with the Firebird deal and that must have some benefit for FANG for some period of time. But that is another discussion by others more qualified than I. FANG operations may leave a little to be desired in an Urban environment such as West Odessa. FANG usually likes fresh water more than recycled water and I am told routinely dumps flow back fluids and produced water on the surface when faced with operational issues rather than truck it away. These practices may not sit well with the Texas militia. What do you think Mike? But as for me and my landman logic, If th Permian Barnett is any good why didn't Industry drill it between oh say around 2022? I don't think this meme is going to age well for Ted.

Thank you for a very informative post Anne!