January 2021 archive

Economy is up but not optimism in Oklahoma and other Midwest states

  A monthly economic survey taken and released by Creighton University shows the economy is improving in Oklahoma and 8 other Midwest and Plains states. But economist Ernie Goss, who oversees the survey, also found that business leaders are less optimistic following the latest jump in COVID-19 cases in the region. The Associated Press reported Goss …

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Energy execs predict increased Capex spending this year

  When it comes to capital spending by oil and gas companies in this new year, many executives predict there will be an increase over 2020. It was the finding of a poll of U.S. energy company leaders by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The survey found about half of them expect their company’s …

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Pandemic’s effect on oil and gas grads

  For college graduates, finding a job can always be challenging, and yes, frustrating. But as the New York Times found out, those grads who chose oil and gas for their possible careers are more than frustrated as the industry was smacked by the coronavirus pandemic. It’s nigh on impossible to find a job for …

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Heavy snows didn’t do much to dent Oklahoma’s drought

  Even with some areas of northwest Oklahoma seeing a total snowfall of 27 inches in December, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows Oklahoma still has more than 25% in a moderate drought. Gary McManus, State Climatologist for the Oklahoma Mesonet and the Oklahoma Climatological Survey said the hard hit drought areas didn’t get some of …

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Energy news in brief

** Argentina’s President Alberto Fernandez has suspended the 8% tax on oil imports and is working on other legislative steps so the country can rebuild its oil and natural gas production. He’s hoping to make Vaca Muerta, one of the world’s largest shale plays a global exporter. ** A Massachusetts city becomes the first in the …

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Ameren’s first U.S. wind farm is operational in Missouri

  Electric utility Ameren has not only gone operational with its first wind farm but it is also the largest in Missouri. The 175-turbine High Prairie Renewable Energy Center is near Kirksville in northern Missouri and is a 400-megawatt project. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Ameren expects the wind farm will produce enough electricity …

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Southwest Kansas home to Enel Green’s largest wind farm in U.S.

  Enel Green Power’s largest renewable energy project in the world is now operational in southwest Kansas, site of the Cimarron Bend wind farm in Clark County. The site is just north of the Oklahoma state line and has a generation capacity of 599 MW with the capability of generating more than 2.7 terrawatt-hours of …

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Oklahoma begins hearing process for increased pollution protect of Illinois River watershed

  The Oklahoma Water Resources Board will hold a public hearing this week on proposed phosphorus criterion covering rivers and creeks of northeast Oklahoma, a move seen as protecting the rivers from growing phosphorus pollution caused by chicken waste. The planned changes will apply to the Scenic River reaches of the Illinois River, Flint Creek and …

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2,000 acre solar farm now operational in West Texas

  Not far from the oil-rich and productive Permian Basin region of Midland, Texas is a 2,000 acre site covered with solar panels. The Long Draw Solar Project, located in Borden County houses more than 800,000 solar panels and became operational in mid-December. The Kerrville Public Utility Board held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the project …

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Off-road electric vehicle plant to locate in central Texas

  A startup company that will manufacture off-road electric vehicles plans to locate its headquarters in Liberty Hill, Texas, a small city located west of Georgetown and north of Austin. Volcon manufactures two-wheel and four-wheel electric off-road vehicles such as motorcycles and utility terrain vehicles, reported the Austin American-Statesman. Volcon’s new headquarters will be located …

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