Energy news in brief

** Chaparral Energy, Inc. (NYSE: CHAP) announced it will issue its first quarter 2020 financial and operational results with the filing of its Form 10-Q report on Monday, May 11. The company will also host a conference call to discuss its results on Tuesday, May 12 at 9 a.m. Central.

** Several candidates running to serve on the Nebraska Public Power District board indicate they want to speed the utility’s transition from coal to clean energy.

** U.S. government attorneys argue that a recent ruling halting a wetland permitting program would hamper thousands of construction projects.

** Illinois added $1 billion in wind energy investment while land lease payments doubled in 2019, according to a wind industry group report. 

** Experts say that Los Angeles’ clear skies and fresher air under the state’s coronavirus lockdown will be temporary, as the systemic problems contributing to pollution and carbon emissions haven’t changed.

** A court’s decision to withdraw a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline could have far-reaching ramifications for oil and gas pipeline developers. 

** Oil companies are asking the BLM for permission to store oil in pipelines on federal lands and to allow the suspension of production without losing their leases.

** Oil and gas activity in the Permian Basin continues to decline, with only 70 rigs active in the New Mexico portion as of last Friday, down from 84 the week before and 100 at the start of April.

** The U.S. Department of Energy awarded grants to a New Mexico research institution to study the potential for carbon sequestration in saline reservoirs and to a Wyoming  project aiming for a commercial-scale geological carbon dioxide storage complex.

** An Arizona regulator fights to stay on the ballot despite learning that some of the signatures to get him there were forged.

** The numbers of greater sage grouse are expected to continue dropping across the West for the fourth consecutive year, which experts say is a consequence of relaxed environmental protection.