October 2019 archive

Owner convicted of violating Clean Air Act

A Federal Jury has convicted a Montana businessman of conspiracy and violations of the Clean Air Act.  Peter Margiotta, who is president, CEO and owner of Custom Carbon Processing, Inc. will be sentenced in January 2020. His firm is a slop-oil processing and recycling company near Wibaux.  A fiery explosion and a fraudulent bill of …

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Work begins in preparation for construction of Keystone XL pipeline

(Courtesy of Rapid City Journal) Early preparations are getting underway in South Dakota and Montana for construction of the Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline. TC Energy, the Canadian firm wanting to build the line reported to a court in recent days that it will haul pipe, spray weeds and move work-camp modular housing in the two …

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ConocoPhillips Announces 38 Percent Increase in Quarterly Dividend

  ConocoPhillips announced an increase in its quarterly dividend of 38 percent, to 42 cents per share. This represents an annualized increase in the dividend of approximately $500 million. The dividend is payable Dec. 2, 2019, to stockholders of record at the close of business on Oct. 17, 2019. The company also announced that it expects to repurchase $3 billion of its shares in 2020. …

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US crude exports unaffected by two major Permian pipelines

Two new major pipelines put into service to move more crude out of the Permian Basin apparently have not had a major impact on efforts to increase U.S. crude exports. Bloomberg News reports the U.S. Census Bureau said exports averaged 2.73 million barrels a day in August, up just 40,000 barrels from a month before. …

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Environmental group plans yearlong study of methane emissions in the Permian

One national environmental group plans to conduct a yearlong study of methane emissions in the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico. The group is the Environmental Defense Fund says its goal is to obtain a definitive picture of the air impacts caused by drilling in the 86,000-square-mile Permian Basin. The data will be made publicly …

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New Mexico Supreme Court rules against environmental group

The New Mexico Supreme Court last week denied a Santa Fe-based clean energy group’s petition to declare certain provisions of the state’s new Energy Transition Act unconstitutional. New Energy Economy and other groups have argued the new law — designed to move public utilities and rural electric cooperatives away from coal and toward renewable and …

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Legislator expresses regret over lack of support on compromise legislation

After the Oklahoma Supreme Court issued its ruling in Beason v. I.E. Miller Services, Inc., striking down non-economic damage caps, House Judiciary Chair Christopher L. Kannady (R-Oklahoma City) sought input from all stakeholders to work on compromise legislation to move Oklahoma forward. Chairman Kannady reached out to the State Chamber of Oklahoma, Oklahoma State Medical …

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Shares acquired by director at Tulsa coal company

An SEC filing by Alliance Resource Partners LP in Tulsa shows board member Robert J. Druten has acquired more derivative securities in the company. Druten was named to the board in January of 2019. The SEC filing indicated he received 2,777 shares giving him direct ownership of a total of 10,408 shares in the company. …

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Study predicts record natural gas use this winter in US

Electricity generators are expected to set a record for natural gas use this winter, reflecting the continued addition of new gas-fired power plants to replace coal units. With about 7,000 megawatts of new gas-fired units estimated to have come online so far in 2019, the power sector will demand 27 billion cubic feet per day …

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Baker Hughes reports international rig count is down

  Baker Hughes, a GE company announced Monday that the Baker Hughes international rig count for September 2019 was 1,131, down 7 from the 1,138 counted in August 2019, and up 127 from the 1,004 counted in September 2018. The international offshore rig count for September 2019 was 242, down 2 from the 244 counted in August 2019, and up 38 from …

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