State government leaders quiet about Halliburton layoffs

The head of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma says this week’s move by Halliburton to shut down its El Reno operations should be a warning to state leaders. But the state leaders aren’t commenting publicly. “This announcement is a reminder that no state, no community, no company is immune from negative impacts when you have …

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DEQ’s deadline for Clean Diesel and Alternative fuel bus grants is Friday

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality says Friday, December 6 is the final deadline for school districts to apply for $3 million in funding for alternative fuel grants. The grants are designed to help school districts replace old diesel school buses with new diesel, gasoline or alternative fuel school buses. Information about each is available …

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Oil and gas keep flowing from new Oklahoma wells

The latest completion reports filed with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission show Newfield Exploration Mid-Con Inc. has more success in the STACK, while Fourpoint Energy in western Oklahoma and EOG Resources in McClain County brought in wells. EOG Resources Inc. reported two wells on a single pad at 7 9N 4W in McClain County or about …

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Halliburton layoffs to have minor impact on Oklahoma jobless rate

Halliburton’s layoff of an estimated 800 workers sounds like a lot but one official in Oklahoma says it will likely have only a minor impact on the state’s jobless rate. “While the layoff is of course a significant blow to the families and local communities involved an increase of unemployment of 800 would have a …

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Slowdown forces Halliburton to close El Reno operations and make layoffs

Only four years old, Halliburton Energy Services’ Remote Operations Command Center near El Reno will be a complete shutdown following this week’s announcement of the layoff of about 800 workers. Many of the workers were based out of the center but actually worked in Texas, Kansas and Colorado in addition to Oklahoma. Workers had heard …

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Energy news in brief

** Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz forms a climate change subcabinet to get the state back on track to meet emission-reduction goals set in 2007. ** A saltwater spill in North Dakota last week occurred at a gas plant disposal well that was abandoned in the 1980s. ** Oil industry groups plan to “vigorously challenge” proposed federal changes that reallocate waived biofuel volumes. ** A House …

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Illinois River floods again

(Steven Van Worth for the Tulsa World) The Illinois River in eastern Oklahoma rose to minor flood level range over the weekend, making it the 18th time in the past 12 months that the river hit a warning stage. Rainfall amounted from 1.5 to 2.5 inches on Saturday in northwest Arkansas and northeast Oklahoma resulting …

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More rules changes to be considered by Oklahoma oil and gas regulators

The Oklahoma Corporation Commission has set a special meeting date to consider changes to some of its Oil and Gas Conservation rules. The meeting will be held at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, December 11 in Courtroom 301 of the Jim Thorpe Office building. It will focus on revised draft amendments to Chapter 10 of the …

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More producing wells are reported in Oklahoma

The latest completion reports from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission show Newfield Exploration Mid-Con Inc. found more producing wells in Kingfisher, one of the main counties in the STACK play. The company had two wells on a single pad at 13 16N 9W or about 10 miles west of the city of Kingfisher. Combined production on …

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New Mexico gets serious about studying frack water

A newly-named Producer Water Research Consortium has wrapped up its public meetings and will begin research into the treatment and reuse of produced water in New Mexico. The consortium is a public-private partnership with New Mexico State University and held five meetings across the state, wrapping up last week. Mike Hightower, civil and environmental engineering …

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