May 1, 2018 archive

Right-Hand Man to Scott Pruitt Quits EPA

Scott Pruitt’s lost one of his right-hand men  he took with him from Oklahoma to run the Environmental Protection Agency. On Tuesday, Albert “Kell” Kelly, a former Tulsa banker who was named by Pruitt to run the Superfund cleanup program resigned. He had held the position for a year after the FDIC banned him for …

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NARO’s Oklahoma Convention Begins Thursday in OKC

From  mineral management and lease negotiations to estate planning, they are among the topics planned at this week’s 2018 Oklahoma NARO convention to be held in Oklahoma City. Activities actually begin Wednesday with a bus tour of Oklahoma City’s adventure district followed by a tour of the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum. A barbecue …

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How the State Senate Voted on Anti-Wind Bill

Political observers at the Oklahoma State Capitol predict the anti-wind effort of some state legislators will not go away, just because the Senate on Monday voted down an effort to eliminate refundability of tax credits for wind farms. Still to be decided are two remaining bills  that could also target the capping of credits. As …

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Report Shows Oklahoma’s Economic Growth is Slow but Steady

The Creighton University Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for a nine-state region stretching from Arkansas to North Dakota, declined, but remained in a healthy range for May, according the latest monthly survey results. Oklahoma’s May Business Conditions Index remained above the growth neutral threshold for a fifth straight month though it declined to …

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Frac Sand Haulers Now Exempt from Federal Rules on Hourly Limits

A move by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the Federal Motor carrier Safety Administration to allow an oil field service exemption to “frac” sand drivers drew thanks from Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and Rep. Markwayne Mullin. And no doubt, oil field operators in Oklahoma will applaud the decision. The two had campaigned to …

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State Boasts of Job Growth in First Quarter 2018

A new report by the Oklahoma Commerce Department shows 19 major announcements about new and expanding businesses locating in the state  were made state wide in the first quarter of 2018. The growth and expansions amounted to $1 billion in investment in the state. Six of the companies were new to the state. The 19 …

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Appeals Court Hears Argument Against Louisiana’s Bayou Bridge Pipeline

A three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Houston heard arguments this week on plans to build a 162-mile long pipeline through Louisiana swampland. The Bayou Bridge pipeline is a joint venture of Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners and Houston-based Phillips 6. But it’s opposed by environmentalists who contend the swampland is …

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Income Increases for Tulsa’s Alliance Holdings

With nearly $104 million net income in the first quarter of 2018, Tulsa’s Alliance Holdings GP, L.P. announced a distribution of nearly 75 cents a share to unit holders. The company said the distribution amounts to $2.99 per unit at an annualized rate payable on May 18, 2018. The distribution is also 35.9 percent more …

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ConocoPhillips Urges Stockholders to Reject Mini-Tender Offer by Baker Mills

ConocoPhillips is urging stockholders to reject an unsolicited mini-tender offer by Baker Mills LLC to buy up to 55,000 shares of ConocoPhillips common stock. The offer represents approximately 0.005 percent of the outstanding shares of ConocoPhillips common stock. The offer price is $54 a share which is nearly 17.9 percent lower than the $65.79 closing …

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Holly Energy Expands Operations in West Texas

A growing diesel fuel demand in the Delaware Basin of west Texas has prompted Dallas-based Holly Energy Partners, L.P. to move ahead with a nearly $20 million truck loading rack in Orla, Texas. The company, with refinery operations in Tulsa, Oklahoma and El Dorado, Kansas will expand its logistics footprint and connect to its New …

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