Nah, I’m just screwing with you. It was unchanged.

FORT WORTH, Texas, Nov. 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Basic Energy Services, Inc. (BAS) (“Basic”) today reported selected operating data for the month of October 2014. Basic’s well servicing rig count remained unchanged at 421. Well servicing rig hours for the month were 77,800 producing a rig utilization rate of 73%, compared to 71% in both September 2014 and October 2013.

Fluid service truck utilization was up substantially. There was a tick down in drilling rig days, but those remain well above where they were the last time BAS was trading at $11.

Roe Patterson had this to say:

“October activity was strong across all of our business segments rebounding from the Labor Day and weather impacts during September. Our stimulation horsepower operated at near full utilization in October and we maintained price increases to offset higher operating costs.”

Sounds like doom and gloom there. Black smoke everywhere…

“We saw a significant increase in truck utilization in October, particularly in our Permian Basin and Rocky Mountain operating areas, as we continue to benefit from our longstanding strategy of centering our fluid service assets around our advanced disposal well network. Utilization levels in our well servicing and contract drilling segments were steady and remained in line with our expectations.

“While we are pleased with our customers’ current levels of activity, we are closely monitoring them as well as their expected 2015 spending plans. We have positioned ourselves to quickly make appropriate changes to our operating strategy as may be required.”

So far, there remains no proof that the sector is even slowing down. I’m sure there are some high speculation bets out there which will be destroyed. So stop buying husk.

Rumors of the demise of the energy and gas sector are way ahead of themselves.

A magnanimous 7 years, and here is to 7 more.

I have very much enjoyed my time with this site. My stint goes back to the days of the old Peanut Gallery, when any reader could chance to write. I gathered myself a small little following, which I used to take down competitor after competitor.

Eventually, I was approached about joining in a permanent station.

Today I repurchased a position in BTU for $11.80. This move doesn’t make sense on some level, since this removes some of my losses for tax season. However, I’ve liked coal for a while now and BTU has a key advantage over other possible positions – I’ve already done due diligence on them.

I was already toying with the idea, and watching Fly move into BTU today got my own legs going.

I had purchased NADL betting that a deal with Russia’s Rosneft would come to fruition in the fourth quarter. However, oil prices and sanctions have clearly left Rosneft thinking it best to delay the transaction. Leaving me holding a very rough (albeit technically competent) operation.

NADL is no good on its own. Deep sea extraction in this environment is terrible, given the price of oil. The company itself is debt burdened. The only thing that made NADL sweet was Rosneft buying up such a large part of the company with assets and cash – the buying price was something akin to $9 a share, or more.

I bought NADL because the deal was sweet and would have completely changed the calculus for holding investors.

I bought the deal. Not promises of the deal.

I’m not waiting around for another eight months praying the Russians make good on their world. The word of a Russian is worth dick to me.

15% loss on a full position cost me 1.5% net. It will get rolled into tax season. Otherwise, my positions are doing well. We’ll see if they keep it up.

Most of my focus has been on the oil market lately, because when this kind of drop off built on this sparse level of evidence presents itself, you take it fully committed.

But a longstanding dark horse investment of mine has been the uranium industry. So confident in the resumption of this industry am I that every year since the Japan disaster, CCJ has been my pick for the stock of the year contest.

The sector has long been correcting and unloved. This comes from two sources.

The first source is fundamental to how uranium is bought and sold. The market volume is paper thin, and nuclear reactors remain well supplied with upwards of three years worth of fuel at all times. Unlike a coal plant, which takes delivery of fuel almost continuously throughout the year, nuclear power plants are tiny islands of isolation.

The second source is a lack of good news to build excitement in the uranium industry. Shares of uranium stocks have traded like deliveries of uranium – bidless.

Both aspects may be changing though. We are far enough out now from the Japan disaster that reactors are beginning to make adjustments to their supply agreements. As CCJ’s data has well supported, the long term supply agreements have not been prone to the massive drawdown that has plagued the uranium spot price.

Japan’s announcement that they are (finally) beginning the process of restarting reactors (after untold hardships in the face of stubbornness) is the critical breath of life missing from the equation. Nuclear stocks and uranium in particular can begin to get back on the minds of fickle fund managers. Investment can pick up in the sector.

Currently, I am showing uranium spot price in the mid to upper $30-40 range. This is a huge recovery from the high $20’s range that spot uranium was trading in just this spring.

If pricing can keep working upward, steadily, into the $40’s, I’d say we’d be getting close to a big and much needed pick me up.

I upped my stake in CCJ, placing an additional 5% of my account in shares, for $17.30.

I added more HCLP for $44.48. Turmoil continues to roll through the oil and gas sector, and weak hands get strewn about.

As the saying goes, you can’t make an omelet without scrambling a few eggs.