March 18, 2019 archive

Light quakes shake areas near Edmond and Stillwater

  Light earthquake activity was reported over the weekend between Edmond and Stillwater in Oklahoma. The largest of the two quakes registered 3.0 magnitude according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The first quake measured 2.1 magnitude and occurred Saturday morning shortly before 9 o’clock. Its epicenter was about 4 miles from Anderson or 23 miles …

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VW’s emission scandal leads to SEC lawsuit

Even after agreeing to pay $8.5 million to Oklahoma and millions to other states over its emissions scandal, Volkswagen finds itself being sued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The SEC contends Volkswagen AG and its former CEO Martin Winterkorn defrauded U.S. investors by raising billions of dollars through bonds while failing to disclose …

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Chesapeake still at odds with Pennsylvania’s Attorney General in royalty fight

Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy won’t escape a lawsuit filed by Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro in a fight over natural gas drilling leases. The Commonwealth Court ruled the Attorney General can move ahead with Unfair Trade Practices Act cases against Chesapeake and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. The court ruled the natural gas leases in “trade” and …

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Gasoline prices keep going up

Gasoline prices jumped again in the past week going up 7 cents on average across the U.S. while Oklahoma prices rose about six cents per gallon. AAA Oklahoma reports the nationwide average is $2.55 this week, up from the $2.48 reported a week ago. Prices in Oklahoma average $2.36 a gallon, higher than the $2.30 …

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Appeals court rules against TransCanada over Keystone XL pipeline

TransCanada has lost a Federal Appeals Court ruling in its fight over a Montana judge’s ruling barring construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the ruling by U.S. District Judge Brian Morris. TransCanada wanted the court to put the ruling on hold while it started …

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Hallilburton agrees not to leave San Antonio

After threatening to leave San Antonio, Halliburton Co. has reached an agreement with the city to remain there. The company had talked of moving its Eagle Ford Shale operation out of the city contending it was being taxed unfairly. The San Antonio Express-News reports that under a complex deal struck in 2016, the Houston-based oil-field …

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Appeals court rules against Catoosa manufacturer in legal fight with PetroChina

The Denver Federal Appeals Court has handed a setback for an Oklahoma firm that filed suit claiming a breach of contract against PetroChina Canada. The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court ruling that dismissed the suit and said it should be heard in Canadian courts. The legal fight stemmed from PetroChina’s …

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OKC’s Mammoth Energy still has workers in Puerto Rico after deadly 2017 Hurricane Maria

After reporting total revenues of $1.7 billion for 2018, Oklahoma City-based Mammoth Energy Services, Inc. made a filing with the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission. In the filing, the company not only made available its financial information, it also explained that it still has workers in Puerto Rico trying to restore electrical power from Hurricane Maria. …

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Dangerous tank fires south of Houston

    Tank fires burned all day on Sunday and into Monday morning at a bulk liquid storage facility managed by Intercontinental Terminal companies near petrochemical complexes south of Houston. It was before 11 on Sunday morning when the naphtha tank caught fire and it spread to a Xylene tank late Sunday night. The Harris …

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Amazon pays for computer courses at 30 Oklahoma High Schools

Amazon  announced it will fund computer science courses in more than 1,000 high schools across all 50 states and the District of Columbia reaching tens of thousands of students from underprivileged, underrepresented, or underserved communities, through its Amazon Future Engineer program. Thirty of the schools are in Oklahoma. Of the more than 1,000 high schools, more than …

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