March 12, 2018 archive

Cushing Inventories Cause Oil Prices to Drop

Oil prices dropped again on Monday as inventories at Cushing fell  by more than half since November, dropping to the lowest level since December 2014. Prices for West Texas Intermediate crude dropped 68 cents and settled at $61.36 a barrel on the New York Mercantile exchange.  The fall  came after oil prices gained $1.92 on …

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Bridenstine’s NASA Nomination in Trouble

While Oklahoma Congressman Jim Bridenstine awaits a possible vote in the Senate on his Presidential nomination to run NASA, he continues to avoid taking part in some votes. As OK Energy Today reported early in 2018, Bridenstine’s second nomination was made but movement on a vote was put on hold largely by Florida U.S. Sen. …

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Next State Senate Leader to be Greg Treat of OKC

 Senate Republicans on Monday unanimously elected Senator Greg Treat to lead their caucus and the Oklahoma Senate. Treat, R-Oklahoma City, was elected pro tem designate, meaning Republicans intend for him to be the next leader of the Senate. Treat will succeed Pro Tem Mike Schulz, who is term limited. In addition to leading the Majority …

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MidStates to Release Earnings Report

Tulsa-based Midstates Petroleum Company , the firm that has proposed a takeover of Oklahoma City’s SandRidge Energy plans to release its fourth quarter and year-end 2017 earnings report on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. The release will be made after the close of trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Executives will then host a conference …

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Denver Oilfield Firm Carried Out Major Expansion in 2017

Talk about a good year for an energy company! How about Denver, Colorado-based Liberty Oilfield Services Inc and how 2017 turned out for the firm. It doubled its oilfield fleet and added nearly 1,000 workers to the company’s payroll. The 2017 revenue totaled $1,490 billion and net income came to $169 million. Revenue for the …

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Inhofe’s FERC Bill Wins Committee Approval

 Last week, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee favorably reported H.R. 1109, legislation to ensure all transmission transactions are provided parity in the review process by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This bill is the companion legislation to S. 1860, authored by Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) and Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.). “I’m pleased …

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Despite Tighter Restrictions, Earthquakes Still Rattle Oklahoma and Kansas

Geological experts in Kansas say the earthquakes that have been rattling the state in the past week to 10 days were likely caused by wastewater injections in both states…not just Oklahoma. In other words, they were caused by humans, not nature. The Wichita Eagle interviewed Justin Rubinstein, deputy chief of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Induced …

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Oklahoma Sees Improvement in Coal Ash Pits

The focus in recent days by some environmentalists has been concern over reported contamination of coal ash pits located at power plants around the country. But in Oklahoma, there has been progress made regarding coal combustion by-products according to the Oklahoma Department of Mines. The sites are not those at coal-fired power plants but rather …

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State House Approves Groundwater Bill

With no debate, the Oklahoma House has approved a bill amending the state’s Groundwater Quality Standards Act. The house voted 83 to two in support of House Bill 3404 with opposition from Reps. George Faught of Muskogee and Jason Murphey of Guthrie. As author Rep. Weldon Watson explained, it was a “request” bill from the …

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State Civil Appeals Court Rules Against Chesapeake Energy

The Oklahoma Court of Civil Appeals has ruled a state lawsuit filed by mineral owners accusing Chesapeake Energy of antitrust practices can be heard in state court. The energy company contends the matter should be heard in federal court but the Civil Appeals court ruled otherwise. “It is well established that federal antitrust law does …

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