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** Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., called on Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to resign Tuesday following a heated exchange over her past financial transactions. Hawley’s tense back-and-forth with Granholm came during a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing held to review the Department of Energy’s (DOE) 2025 budget request. The Missouri Republican excoriated the energy secretary for violating the …
Lankford grilled IRS commissioner about tax breaks for Chinese firms but not American companies
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. James Lankford took on the IRS during a Senate committee hearing this week wondering why the Biden administration gave tax breaks to a Chinese EV battery plant while ruling against a U.S. firm. It was during a Senate Finance Committee hearing entitled “The President’s Fiscal Year 2025 IRS Budget and the IRS …
Oklahoma Attorney General gets nod to look into complaints against airlines
Attorney General Drummond announced a new initiative that gives him the authority to investigate consumer complaints about the actions of airline carriers and ticket agents. While such investigations historically are the sole purview of the federal government, AG Drummond recognized the need for additional consumer protection efforts and recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) …
Crude oil prices experience mild drop as world waits for Israel’s response to Iran’s weekend attack
Crude oil prices remained mostly flat in Tuesday’s trading as investors carefully eyed what might happen next following Iran’s attack on Israel over the weekend. West Texas Intermediate crude for May delivery finished 5 cents lower or 0.06% at $85.36 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Global benchmark Brent crude dropped 8 cents …
Mooreland firefighter still hospitalized after early April wildfire in northwest Oklahoma
A volunteer firefighter badly burned in an April 6 wildfire near Sharon in northwest Oklahoma remains hospitalized in Oklahoma City’s Integris Baptist Burn Center. The Enid News and Eagle reports Jared Brittain, a firefighter for the Mooreland fire department is undergoing care for his burns. He and another firefighter were caught in the …
Senator Mullin presses Air Force Secretary over delays of new AWACS for Tinker Air Force Base
Just days after he and Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island toured Tinker Air Force base, Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Markwayne Mullin pressured Air Force leaders about the status of delivery of new AWACS E-7 aircraft to replace the aging E-3 planes. It came during a Tuesday hearing of …
Dozens of Texas cities have reported high levels of ‘forever chemicals’ in their drinking water
While Oklahoma City announced this week its testing of drinking water showed no major levels of the existence of forever chemicals, it’s a different story for 49 towns and cities in Texas. The Texas Tribune reports those 49 communities reported surpassing the EPA’s first-ever limits for five “forever chemicals” in drinking water. The …
OGE honors its linemen during National Lineman Appreciation Day
Thursday is National Lineman Appreciation Day and the 300 lineworkers at Oklahoma Gas and Electric are being honored for their work in servicing power lines across Oklahoma and Arkansas. In announcing its observation of the day, OG&E stated that oftentimes, crews repair power lines damaged by severe weather, leaving their families at home so …
Oklahoma reports drop in gross production tax revenue from oil and gas
Oklahoma Treasurer Todd Russ reported the state’s revenue from its gross production tax on oil and gas continues to show a lower trend. Figures released in his March 2024 Economic report showed a more than 12% drop in oil and gas gross production tax revenue from February to March. The total revenue was $82.7 …
Carbon credits to fight methane leaks in abandoned wells?
The director of a group fighting methane emissions from the oil and gas industry maintains carbon credits can be valuable in solving the problem of methane-emitting orphaned wells in the country. It’s the opinion of Maris Densmore, director of American Carbon Registry’s Industrial Program. Writing in a recent opinion piece in The Oklahoman, …