Not all oil and gas firms have seen a drop in prices due to coronavirus

The spread of the coronavirus has affected oil and gas markets as investors are selling off their industry shares. But not all oil and gas companies are seeing a downturn. On Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude futures plunged more than 6% before they recovered slightly. Futures on WTI were down 4.6% to $44.92 at midday, …

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Oil and gas leaders challenge Democratic Presidential candidates in New York Times ad

More than 50 oil and gas industry leaders including Harold Hamm of Oklahoma City-based Continental Resources responded to Democratic Presidential candidates and their criticism of the industry with a New York Times full-page advertisement. Bryce Conway, President and CEO of Weatherford-based Flex-Chem Corporation, an advertiser on OK Energy Today, also was among the 54 executives …

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Judge cancels oil and gas leases on federal lands

A federal judge in Idaho has cancelled more than $125 million in oil and gas leases on public lands that are home to the declining bird species greater sage grouse, a bird that once thrived in Oklahoma, in a ruling that said the Trump administration illegally curtailed public comment. The ruling doesn’t prevent the administration …

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Former longtime EPA worker explains his resignation while Pruitt headed the agency

“With Scott Pruitt, you had someone who had built a career on trying to dismantle and deconstruct basic environmental protections. So for me, that’s a person who is not qualified.”   Mustafa Santiago Ali knew it was time to leave EPA. It was March 2017, and Ali had spent 24 years at the agency, working …

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Rig counts drop in Oklahoma and the U.S.

More oil and gas rigs are going into storage across the U.S. as a drop of one in the U.S. oil and gas rig count was reported in the past week while the number of active rigs in Oklahoma fell by three. Baker Hughes Co. reported Oklahoma’s count dropped to 48 compared to the 115 …

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Hazard mitigation bill wins state House Committee support

The House County and Municipal Government Committee passed legislation to create the Oklahoma Hazard Mitigation Assessment District Act. House Bill 2776 was authored by State Rep. Lonnie Sims (R-Jenks) and provides the framework for residents in each county to identify, elect and invest locally in hazard mitigation. “After weeks of meetings over the summer, hours …

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Water act bill gets House Committee support

  The creation of an Oklahoma Sustainable Waters Act of 2020 was one bill that received support from a State House Committee before a Thursday deadline on bills. Rep. Trey Caldwell of Lawton authored the measure that was approved on a 17-0 vote in the House Energy and Natural Resources Committee. It was sent to …

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Energy news in brief

** California regulators impose a $2.14 billion penalty against PG&E for the utility’s role in causing catastrophic wildfires in 2017 and 2018. **An Indiana Senate committee advances a bill aimed at slowing coal plant retirements with amendments that would shorten the bill’s end-date and protect ratepayers from cost increases. ** A lack of government enforcement allowed coal companies to transfer $865 million …

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A tough, tough year for OKC’s Gulport Energy

Imagine losing $2 billion?  It’s what Oklahoma City-based Gulfport Energy Corporation reported for 2019, attributing the loss to a large write-down. In an earnings report, the firm reported it lost $2.02 billion or $12.49 per share while total revenues were $1.35 billion for all of 2019. Gulfport wrote down its oil and natural gas assets …

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Oklahoma receives $16 million in federal flood damage aid

Oklahoma will get more than $16 million in federal emergency money from the U.S. Department of Transportation because of flood damage over the past few years. It is part of $653 million in USDOT emergency funding to make road and bridge repairs. Oklahoma will get $7,047,846 to repair damage caused by storms and flooding from …

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