My grandma always says, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth." The saying comes to mind as I read today's headlines about many aspects of the energy sector rebounding and growing.
The saying basically means, "don't be ungrateful when you receive a gift." When you are given a horse as a gift, don't inspect his teeth to see if he is old or of poor quality.
It reminds me of a good story. I was in an old cowboy bar in Wyoming and this handsome young Montana cowboy, wearing a big cowboy hat, walked straight up to my friends and I seated at the bar, took my shoe off without saying anything and looked at my foot, asked me to smile so he could see my teeth and said, "You're the best filly in here. What do you say you marry me?" I remember blushing something fierce. Later, my grandma told me that is how cowboys inspect the quality of horses they are looking to buy – they look at their hooves and teeth! She loved that story of how he tried to pick me up the same way.
I digress...Don't look a gift horse in the mouth. Don't wish for more, don't fail to appreciate the gift – be grateful for what you have been given. That is what we all should be doing with this energy sector rebound and growth. It covers numerous segments of the energy sector and is something to be grateful for.
Coal
Despite the odds, coal is doing ok. The Casper Star Tribune reports in its article entitled Despite a Harrowing Year, Coal Shows Resiliency, that "coal has shown its moxie." Coal production finished strong in the third quarter of 2016 and is reportedly showing a "market correction" and that it may be reaching equilibrium. According to the Casper Star Tribune, "[t]he numbers represent a bittersweet finish line for coal, like a celebration of moderate strength in a patient recovering from life-threatening injuries."
The article provides, "State economists in October projected Wyoming would reach 300 million tons by the end of the year."
Oil
Luckily, although reports say that the price of oil fell a little today, according to Bloomberg Energy, drilling rigs are getting back to work. Baker Hughes Inc. reportedly showed that "U.S. drillers added rigs for the 10th-straight week to the highest level in a year." The rig count is reportedly at "the highest level since the week ended [one year ago] January 1, 2016."
Nuclear
In addition, according to Forbes article entitled, "Nuclear Power in Washington State Continues to Break Records," the Columbia Generating Station, a nuclear power plant near Richland, WA that is operated by the non-profit Energy Northwest, reportedly hit a new record in 2016, it "generated a record 9.6 billion kWh of electricity in 2016, edging out its previous record of 9.5 billion kWh in 2014."
Renewables
All aspects of the energy sector, including renewable energy, are something to add to the "to be grateful for" list. As featured today in a Fortune article discussing Secretary of State, John Kerry's speech this morning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, entitled, "John Kerry Says Clean Energy Will Yield Job Growth Survival," implementing greener energy will lead to more jobs and economic development.
With the rebound and growth in the energy sector, we should remember to be grateful. And do as my grandma says, "don't look a gift horse in the mouth."
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