By Ellen Wald In 1729, British satirist Jonathan Swift recommended that poor families sell their babies as food. It was not a serious suggestion, but rather an attack on the absurd theories of the day. In 2019, an activist satirically told Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that the only way to solve climate change was to “start eating babies.” What would have happened if that activist had stood up in this winter of 2021 with such a wild idea? After a year of...

If you own an energy stock, and a highly levered name in particular, your returns have been absolutely astronomical since November. That’s why it’s time to take an ESG safety moment. On November 2, 2020, the day CDEV announced their earnings for Q3, and the last substantive press release they made, they opened at 60 cents. Today, it closed at $3.37. That... for the record, ladies and gentlemen is a 550% increase. Did they change their ESG? Their board? Their emissions?...

This week, we are joined by Trisha Curtis, the founder of PetroNerds. We talk all things oil and gas and for those who know either of us, you know we speak fast. The two of us together is like a 9 hour podcast in 50 minutes. We talk Bakken, energy policy, the future of US oil and gas, Saudi and a whole bunch more. Hope you enjoy! Podcast Audio   https://youtu.be/WTTLaOZI4Bs   About Trisha President and CEO Trisha Curtis Since founding PetroNerds, Trisha Curtis has been recognized...

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In Costa Rica, the eco diversity, habitats and species make it a vacation hotspot. But at the core, that tranquility is a business. The citizens and government have realized that the wealth creation from tranquility exceeds the wealth creation from resource extraction. That’s the high level view. On an individual level, in Maslow’s Pyramid, food and shelter fall well below self actualization but only in the latter state, do you go to countries and spend dollars to support their food...

I have generally self-censored myself from anything that could get me banned again, but, you know me, it was really only a matter of time. Today is that time.  Akin to Ricky Gervais in ‘Humanity’ when he kept saying ‘I should have left it’, I bias more to his character at the Golden Globes ‘It’s my last time. I don’t care, anymore.’ Grab a beer and buckle up, because somebody has some explaining to do. So, here’s my struggle. Pfizer...

This week, we wanted to do something a bit different but really relevant. Meet Steve Stine. Teacher, guitar wizard and now the face of GuitarZoom. Find out how he built a brand in a sea of musicians, what advice he has for would be entrepreneurs that want to start their own journey, and why when you run out of hours... you have to figure out leverage. He’s a really cool dude, amazing charisma and whether you play an instrument or...

As Q4 reporting gets underway, we've seen a lot of commentary from oil and gas companies about carbon.  Here are some examples. ExxonMobil:  Met 2020 methane emissions (15%) and flaring (25%) reduction targets versus 2016, and announced 2025 emission reduction plans; projected to be consistent with the Paris Agreement. ExxonMobil has announced the creation of a new business - ExxonMobil Low Carbon Solutions - to commercialize its extensive low-carbon technology portfolio. The organization will advance plans for more than 20...

Why Would The World’s Biggest Fund Push Carbon Credits? Wald Wednesday: Carbon credits, big finance, big oil, and big billionaires By Ellen Wald BlackRock is getting involved in financial environmental engineering. In his annual letter to the boards of corporations, CEO Larry Fink asked companies “to disclose a plan for how their business model will be compatible with a net zero economy.” Companies whose progress towards “net zero” is deemed insufficient according to BlackRock’s standards will face consequences. The letter raises suspicions...

OK, it's not #mergermonday but there was #SaleSunday and Surge Energy announced that it acquired Grenadier Energy Partners II (GEP II)  after the failed business combination with HighPeak Energy in late 2019. I'm not going to lie, with SPACs, and COVID, and renegotiated prices, changed acreage and well over a year of drama, the story was a hard one to follow but I think I have it down now. Here it is! Recall that in November of 2019, a SPAC...