** European countries worried their plans to cut greenhouse gases will put their own companies at risk are weighing imposing trade tariffs on goods from countries — like the U.S. — that lack robust climate change policies according to POLITICO. The European Union imposes a price of 25 euros (nearly $28) per metric ton of carbon dioxide emitted …
December 2019 archive
Widow dismisses claims against Texas firm in deadly 2018 gas rig explosion
A mysterious new development has occurred in the legal action against National Oilwell VARCO L.P., the Texas company sued over the Jan. 22, 2018 tragic well blowout that left five workers dead at a site near Quinton, Oklahoma. A Dec. 5 filing in Pittsburg County District Court shows one of the wives of a worker …
State regulators consider energy efficient building codes
Oklahoma’s Uniform Building Code Commission will meet next week to consider adoption of a new International Conservation Code that applies to energy efficiency. Commissioners will decide which edition of the code will be adopted in the Dec. 17 meeting at the Commission’s headquarters, 2401 NW 23 Street, Suite 2F in Oklahoma City. The International Energy …
Chevron’s $11 billion write down—-the sign of things to come?
Chevron Corp.’s move this week to write down up to $11 billion in assets for the fourth quarter could be what other oil and gas companies will do as prices slump. Chevron confirmed this week in a statement that it is considering the sale of some of its shale-gas holdings. The company plans to bail …
Winter storm watch in Oklahoma—will it be a White Christmas?
The people who make a living watching the weather admit it—they’re not sure if the storm system churning out in the Pacific south of Alaska will bring snow or rain to Oklahoma in the coming days. But you know that energy workers in northern and western Oklahoma are waiting to learn what their working conditions …
ConocoPhillips to release 4Q earnings report in February 2020
ConocoPhillips plans to release its fourth-quarter 2019 financial and operating results on Feb. 4, 2020. The Houston-based company said the results will be made available before the market opens on that day. Company leadership will follow up with a conference call webcast on the same day at 11 a.m. central time. The company’s third-quarter 2019 …
Deadline arrives for BLM workers in move to Colorado
Thursday was a deadline for about 200 federal workers to decide if they will move from Washington, D.C. into the Bureau of Land Management’s new official national headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado. The Department of Interior has yet to indicate how many of the high-level staffers will make the move but media reports suggest few …
Oil production up in Texas but well permits and completions are down
A new report from the Railroad Commission of Texas shows oil production in the state totaled 96.97 million barrels of oil and 702.42 billion cubic feet of natural gas in September. Production is up but the number of completed wells is down. It compares to crude oil production of 85.10 million barrels a day in …
Noble Energy adds new member to board of directors
Houston’s Noble Energy, Inc. added another member to its board of directors. Martha B. Wyrsch, 61, recently served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of California-based Sempra Energy. She was also President of North America of Vestas American Wind Technology, a wind turbine manufacturing and services company. From 2007 until 2008, Ms. Wyrsch served …
Another Iowa county adopts moratorium on wind farms
Another county in Iowa has voted to adopt an indefinite moratorium on new wind farms. It happened this week in Hardin County, a county located in central Iowa where the county seat is Eldora. County supervisors voted 3-0 in support of a resolution placing the moratorium “effective immediately and indefinitely” on wind turbine permits. The …
