So, phew, that was a bit of an experience right? (IT WAS WONDERFUL) Is anyone out there like me after last Wednesday’s debate thanking their lucky stars that this is all finally, mercifully over? (I DON”T ACCEPT THAT RESULT, IT’S NOT OVER TILL I SAY IT IS)

 
What? It’s not? There’s more? Surely not that much more left. What? 17 days? That’s a freaking eternity! (LOSER)

Look, I actually know how many days there are until November 28th, I mean 8th. (IT’S JUST NUMBERS) I am just at a loss as to what kind of campaigning can actually happen between now and then and what, if anything, can change. (I HAVE A PLAN, IT’S A GREAT PLAN)

I guess this is where the ground campaign comes in and the whole “get out the vote” part of the election becomes more important. If the past few weeks are any indication, I see the Clinton (LIAR) campaign as being disciplined, organized, knowledgeable and able to act with military precision to mobilize their forces for the vote while the Drumpf campaign, well let’s put it this way, they probably aren’t as well organized. (WE’LL HAVE A WALL)

While it’s still top of mind (I HAVE THE SMARTEST PEOPLE) I did actually want to segue into the three debates and make some generic commentary not on politics, policy positioning, right or wrong on the issues or anything like that. I will try and be politically neutral and there is no judgement on either candidate as it regards where they stand or whether they should be in jail or not. (LOCK HER UP)

I just fell that if you are an outside observer and just tuned in or maybe you’re that Brendan Fraser character from Blast From the Past (VERY FINE MOVIE, CANADIAN ACTOR, PLAYS WEIRD ROLES – SHOULD BE DEPORTED), there is absolutely no way that you would have drawn the conclusion at any one of these so-called “debates” that you were watching two actual grown-ups auditioning to be what is ultimately, after Mark Zuckerberg, the most powerful person in the world. (I LOVE THE GOOGLES, I RANK HIGH IN THE GOOGLES)

Whatever happened to civil discourse? I don’t know about the rest of you, but I wasn’t brought up to be some kind of craven, rude, interrupting maniac bully or an eye-rolling, smug automaton. I actually cringe every time I watched (WRONG!) Donald Drumpf participate (THAT’S A LIE!) in the debate (NEVER HAPPENED!).

Far from making him seem in control, all I was left with was here is a dude who can’t keep his mouth shut and is so used to getting his own way that he is, in essence, a spoiled child. (IT’S ALL RIGGED ANYWAY)

By contrast, his opponent (LYIN’ HIILARY) came off mostly as calm, cool and collected (NO SHE DIDN’T), in command of the facts (BIGLY WRONG) and, dare I say it, presidential (NASTY), albeit a bit robotic (BILL DID FAR WORSE THAN ME).

Never mind any assessment of Drumpf’s policies (I HAVE GREAT ONES), I just don’t think I could have, or the United States could have for that matter, stood this level of juvenile (YOU’RE A PUPPET) discourse for the next four years, never mind the next 17 days.

I started doing my “Drumpf Watch” back in early 2015 for fun (GOOD MOVE), but quite frankly I didn’t think it would be the gift that kept giving (YOU’RE WELCOME), but really, I am looking forward to retiring it (YOU CAN’T, I DON’T ACCEPT THE RESULTS, I’LL KEEP YOU IN SUSPENSE. BIGLY).

This election is monumentally important, but it’s as unwatchable as the last few seasons of the Celebrity Apprentice (A GREAT SHOW).

Back in May I think I made a number of predictions on this election. (HERE WE GO) One was that Hillary Clinton (LOCK HER UP) was going to be the Democratic nominee and the other was that Marco Rubio would be the Republican nominee (LITTLE MARCO). I also said Hillary would win the presidency. I got one right and am fairly comfortable with the last one, and admit failure on the Rubio (BAD HOMBRE), although he had such promise for that brief nanosecond before he wilted like a moth.

However, also contained in that attempt at a predictive post (I HAVE THE BEST WORDSA) was that the legacy of Drumpf for a Republican party as bereft of ideas as the Democrats was going to be years in the wilderness. And I can’t see how any other conclusion is possible in this. The ascension of Drumpf (GODLIKE) and the inability of the mainstream Republican party to control that rise has revealed fissures so deep on the right side of the political spectrum that it is going to take years to fix, much like the rise of the Reform party in Canada and the busting up of the grand Canadian Progressive Conservative coalition of Western hard-line conservatives, Ontario free-trade supporting progressives and Quebec soft nationalists under Brian Mulroney.

And looking about the remains of the Republican power base (LOSERS AND TRAITORS), I am hard-pressed to identify any strong-willed technocrat along the lines of a Stephen Harper (HUMAN ROBOT GUY) who will be able to knit some of these factions back together to beat back the Democrats. It only took one term to get over the mess that was Barry Goldwater, but that was 50 years ago – there is no Richard Nixon (A FINE MAN) to bring it together. This damage may last a while (MY LEGACY LIVES ON).

Dear United States of America, don’t look now, but Donald Drumpf may have just moved you left of centre for another 12 years. Not sure this is exactly what the intent was. (TOLD YOU)

Prices as at October 21, 2016 (October 14, 2016)

• The price of oil ended the week up mostly on OPEC enthusiasm.
  • Storage posted a large, surprise, decrease
  • Production was down marginally
  • The rig count was up
  • Prices were lifted by OPEC optimish and closed on Wednesday at their highest level since July 2015
• Natural gas was flat during the week, but lost significant ground at the end of the week when the forecast of a warmer winter was released.

• WTI Crude: $50.85 ($50.35)
• Nymex Gas: $2.993 ($3.285)
• US/Canadian Dollar: $0.74995 ($ 0.7622)

Highlights

• As at October 14, 2016, US crude oil supplies were at 468.7 million barrels, a decrease of 5.3 million barrels from the previous week and 24.1 million barrels ahead of last year.
  • The number of days oil supply in storage was 29.6, behind last year’s 30.7.
  • Production was up for the week at 8.464 million barrels per day. Production last year at the same time was 9.096 million barrels per day. The change in production this week came from a slight increase in Alaska deliveries and lower 48 production.
  • Imports fell to 6.907 million barrels a day, compared to 7.471 million barrels per day last year. It is likely that shipments were donw as a result of Hurricane Matthew
  • Refinery inputs were off during the week at 15.370 million barrels a day
• As at October 14, 2016, US natural gas in storage was 3,836 billion cubic feet (Bcf), which is 5% above the 5-year average and about 1% higher than last year’s level, following an implied net injection of 77 Bcf during the report week.
  • Overall U.S. natural gas consumption was down 1% during the week on lower industrial and residential demand. Power consumption increased
  • Production for the week was flat and imports from Canada fell by 18% as maintenance on the Alliance pipeline took supply offline
  • The gas story in the United States is increasingly bullish as additions to storage have significantly slowed relative to prior years as the heating season approaches
• As of October 17, the Canadian rig count was at 123 (18% utilization), 97 Alberta (21%), 10 BC (13%), 13 Saskatchewan (11%), 2 Manitoba (13%)). Utilization for the same period last year was about 25%.
• US Onshore Oil rig count at October 21 was at 443, up 11 from the week prior.
  • Rig count at January 1, 2015 was 1,482
• Natural gas rigs drilling in the United States was up 3 at 108.
  • Rig count at January 1, 2015 was 328
• US split of Oil vs Gas rigs is 80%/20%, in Canada the split is 55%/45%
• Offshore rig count was flat at 23
  • Offshore rig count at January 1, 2015 was 55

Drillbits

• Tourmaline has agreed to buy Shell’s shale gas assets in BC and Alberta for $1.4 billion.
• Chesapeake Energy celebrated the biggest frack they have ever done – pumping more than 25,000 tons of sand down one Louisiana natural gas well
• More pipeline vandalism as a number of pieces of construction equipment were lit on fire at jobsites for the North Dakota Access Pipeline. Estimated damage so far from such activities is about $2 million. I suppose it’s all fun and games until there is a fatality. Stupid.
• The average length of laterals drilled into shale by E&Ps continues to grow. According to Bloomberg, the unofficial record for the length of a lateral drilled was 18,544 feet, or about 3.5 miles.
  • More and more companies are extending laterals beyond 10,000 feet. Extending a lateral from 5,000 to 10,000 feet can make a well four and a half times more valuable, according to SM Energy (NYSE: SM), a company that just spent $1.6 billion for acreage in the Permian Basin.
•  Altagas reported stroing results for Q3 2016, with normalized EBITDA of $176 million, a 41 percent increase over the third quarter of 2015. In addition, the cmpany announced a positive Final Investment Decision (FID) on the North Pine NGL Facility (the North Pine Facility);
• To plug the $87 billion hole in its budget, Saudi Arabia turned to the bond market for help, where it sold $17.5 billion, the largest debt sale ever recorded by a developing country.
• Oil tanker rates hit a four-month high this week, as a rash of bookings for tankers were recorded in the Middle East, Bloomberg says.
• Drumpf Watch – Is this the end? Maybe. (WRONG!)