** ConocoPhillips Alaska announces plans to cut North Slope production by about 100,000 barrels per day in June. ** ExxonMobil Corp posted a surprise first quarter loss Friday amid an historic decline in global crude prices and said it would slash spending by $10 billion in order to protect its dividend and balance sheet. ** An Iowa congresswoman co-sponsors a …
May 2020 archive
Environmental groups fight gas pipeline in SE New Mexico
A coalition of environmental organizations challenged the federal government’s approval of a 135-mile natural gas pipeline project in Eddy County, citing regulators’ lack of analysis of the project’s impact on climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. The Carlsbad Current Argus reported the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an environmental assessment (EA) in March, finding …
Army Corps’ pipeline approval program suspended
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has suspended a nationwide program used to approve oil and gas pipelines, power lines and other utility work, spurred by a court ruling that industry representatives warn could slow or halt numerous infrastructure projects over environmental concerns reported the Associated Press. The directive from Army Corps headquarters, detailed in …
Frac sand mining operations suffer in oil and gas crisis
The nation’s wrecked oil and gas industry has left another frac sand plant closed and its 55 workers losing their jobs, something that has happened to Oklahoma’s frac mining operations. The latest closure was in Wisconsin where Smart Sand Inc. laid off the dozens of workers and blamed the combination of COVID-19 and the oil …
Iowa ethanol industry in ‘very serious shape,’ former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack says
Former Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack is among his state’s Democrats who are critical of Republicans for failing to give more help to the state’s ailing ethanol industry. They contend Republicans instead favor Big Oil over corn growers and the ethanol industry seated in Iowa. “This is an incredibly grave time for all of us, but …
Drop in 1Q income reported by Cheniere Energy
Houston’s Cheniere Energy, the operator of the Midship natural gas line from Kingfisher south to the Oklahoma state line reported a first quarter 2020 decline in net income. The quarter’s net income totaled $375 million or $1.48 a share, down from $141 million and 55 cents a share reported for the first quarter of 2019. …
