April 2018 archive

Oklahoma Senate Votes Down House Move Against Wind Tax Credit Refunds

Despite impassioned pleas that the state no longer can afford to pay subsidies to the Oklahoma wind industry, the State senate late Monday rejected House amendments to a bill to eliminate the refundability of tax credits. The vote was 18-23 against the House amendments. “We’re subsidizing an industry with a subsidy we can’t afford,” argued …

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Oil Prices Surge Higher on Israeli Claim Against Iran

  A claim by Israel that Iran lied in order to get the nuclear deal with the Obama administration sparked a jump in oil prices on Monday. Futures in  New York went up seven-tenths of one percent, settling pennies short of a three year high. The price for a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude …

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Gowdy Moves Forward with US House Probe of Scott Pruitt

Congressman Trey Gowdy is moving  ahead with the House Oversight Committee probe of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. Over the weekend, the South Carolina Republican Representative told “Face the Nation” he had received documents his committee had asked of the EPA in his expanded probe of Pruitt, the former Oklahoma Attorney General. “We are scheduling witness …

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Major Firms in Oil Drilling Software Fight

As Tulsa’s Helmerich and Payne International Drilling Company moves ahead with a software fight with Schlumberger Technology Corporation, a Tulsa federal judge has issued a ruling excluding part of the fight. U.S. District Magistrate Judge Frank H. McCarthy recently ruled that Schlumberger’s defense regarding “rig of the future” software technology is not appropriate for discovery …

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Tulsa Chemical Company Wins Lawsuit Over Leasing of Rail Cars

Tulsa-based Trinity Chemical LLC has won a breach of contract lawsuit filed against a Nebraska ethanol operator. In a recent judgment by Tulsa U.S. District Judge John E. Dowdell, the company was awarded $616,626.41 against Cornhusker Energy Lexington, LLC, a firm based in Lexington, Nebraska. The lawsuit was filed in 2016 following an agreement by …

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Gasoline Prices Jump Again

Gasoline prices continue to reach their highest levels in nearly three years as Oklahoma’s average has reached an average of $2.52 a gallon, an increase of 6 cents over the past several days. But the national average is up to $2.81 a gallon for gasoline while diesel fuel prices have reached an average $3.06 a …

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New Steel Mill Dedicated in Durant

Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin recently helped dedicate Commercial Metals Company’s new micro mill in Durant. The mill is CMC’s second technologically advanced micro mill that uses a continuous manufacturing process which melts, casts and rolls steel from a single uninterrupted strand, resulting in higher yields and lower energy consumption than the traditional mini mill process. …

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Marathon Petroleum Buys Andeavor in $23 billion deal

Marathon Petroleum, one of the active players in Oklahoma’s STACK oil play announced this week it intends to buy rival Andeavor in a $23 billion deal. The purchase will make the newly-formed company the largest U.S. refiner.  It’s a cash-and-stock deal that values Andeavor at nearly $152 per share. The combined company will have the …

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Texas Signs Off on Another Wind Farm Operation

A company has won approval from Texas regulators for the construction of a large wind farm in far west Texas.  Xcel Energy won the approval from the Public Utility Commission of Texas to build the 478-megawatt Hale Wind Project near Plainview, Texas. The wind farm will be one of two to be built in the …

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Oklahoma’s Oil and Gas Rig Count Increased in Past Week

Oklahoma added 6 more rigs in the past week to reach 133 exploring for oil and gas while the nation added 8 to reach 1,021 working rigs. The national count included 5 more oil rigs to reach a total of 825 while the number of gas rigs grew by 3 to hit 195. Over the …

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