February 2017 archive

EPA Offers Glowing Description of Scott Pruitt’s New Job

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt was set to hold his first meeting with EPA employees on Tuesday. It was slated to be a webcast to all employees. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency wasted little time in creating a website for Pruitt’s new job. Here is how it appears on the EPA website: “On February 17, 2017, …

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The Southeast Gets Its First Wind Farm

The southeastern part of the U.S. gets its first wind farm. The Amazon Wind Farm U.S. East is in Elizabeth City, North Carolina. Developers say the wind farm will generate enough electricity to power 61,000 homes. The Internet retailer Amazon has agreed to buy some of the power from the electric grid. The first phase …

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Pennsylvania Points to Minor Earthquakes Linked to Fracking

While Oklahoma has attracted most of the interest nationally regarding connections between earthquakes and wastewater injection wells, experts in Pennsylvania claim to have found a similar connection. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection contends the hydraulic fracturing operations have caused low-level earthquakes in the state. The minor earthquakes occurred last April in Lawrence county near …

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Permian’s Popularity is Soaring

The Permian Basin in west Texas and southeast New Mexico remains the number one interest of oil and gas exploration in the U.S. Not even Oklahoma’s growing STACK and SCOOP plays can compare. The Permian Basin Petroleum Association says more than 40 percent of the rig activity in the U.S. is in the Permian. Further, …

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Attorneys Think They Have Found a Significant Memo in Fighting Dakota Access Pipeline

  Environmentalists and members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe who are fighting the completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline think they have something that could stop construction. It’s an overlooked memo from the top lawyer in the Obama administration’s Interior Department. Written by Interior Solicitor Hilary Tompkins, the 35-page memo outlined reasons the government …

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Joseph A. Mills Tapped as President and CEO of Samson Resources

Tulsa-based Samson Resources Corp. announced Monday that Joseph A. Mills has been selected to be president and CEO of the restructured company, according to a Tulsa World report. Mills has nearly 35 years of experience in the oil and gas industry, including public company management experience.  Most recently, he served as Chairman of the Board …

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Mike Hunter Replaces Scott Pruitt as Oklahoma’s Attorney General

Oklahoma Governor Mary Fallin has appointed Secretary of State Mike Hunter to succeed Scott Pruitt as the state’s next attorney general, according to a news report by The Oklahoman. Pruitt was confirmed last week to become the new Environmental Protection Agency administrator. Hunter was named Oklahoma’s first assistant attorney general in June 2015, serving as …

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Solar Energy Looking Bright in Oklahoma With Addition of Two New Solar Farms

Solar energy became the top new energy source in the U.S. for 2016 with new installations doubling last year. Since January of this year, Oklahoma has welcomed two new solar farms aimed at providing a green and renewable source of energy for the Sooner State. In late October, construction began near Marietta on two acres …

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Pruitt Gives First Interview After Taking Over at EPA

Maybe Scott Pruitt won’t be as bad as environmentalists and Democrats think as he is now in charge of the direction where the Environmental Protection Agency will head in a Trump administration. In his first interview since being nominated last year, Pruitt told the Wall Street Journal’s Kimberly Strassel there is much to do hitting …

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Oklahoma Average Gasoline Prices Dropped Slightly in Past Week

While there are indications that gasoline prices in Oklahoma and elsewhere across the country could possibly climb by the time Memorial Day arrives, prices have slipped slightly in the past week. GasBuddy.com reports Oklahoma’s new average is $2.06 a gallon, a drop of 3 cents over the last several days. The national average is $2.28, …

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