The dangers of the huge lithium batteries used to power some electric cars is often displayed in fires that burn for hours and required large amounts of water to control. It wasn’t such an EV battery that displayed its dangers this week when a norman recycle truck caught fire in Norman. But it was …
September 2024 archive
PSO files $33.5 million request for higher rates while an ongoing request is being considered by regulators
The AARP Oklahoma wasn’t bluffing when it told members this week during a telephone town hall that yet another increase is coming from Public Service Company of Oklahoma, even as state regulators are considering a previous rate hike request. PSO filed a notice seeking approval from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission for what is …
Big Marcellus Shale acquisition made this week
An acquisition of 435,000 acres in the Marcellus Shale play was announced this week by Philadelphia-based WhiteHawk Energy, LLC. It’s a shale play where Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy also has operations. The natural gas mineral and royalty assets acquired by WhiteHawk Energy are across southwestern Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia and expands the company’s …
Cushing Hub crude stocks down 2 million barrels since early September
Crude stocks declined again in a big way at the Cushing Hub in Oklahoma and across the U.S., reported the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Cushing’s total in stored crude oil fell 2 million barrels, from 24.7 million recorded on September 6 to 22.7 million barrels on September 13 which is the latest reporting period …
Anthony urges Supreme Court to “ignore” Todd Hiett’s suit against him
Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Bob Anthony told the State Supreme Court it should ignore what former Commission chairman Todd Hiett claimed in his request to stop Anthony from investigating alleged corruption in commission cases. Responding to Commissioner Hiett’s request for a writ of prohibition filed last month with the court, Anthony filed his answer this …
Rep. Lucas helped honor NASA’s Hidden Figures—women who helped put a man on the moon
Oklahoma Congressman Frank Lucas was one of those who spoke Wednesday at a Congressional Gold Medal Ceremony to honor a group of women known as the Hidden Figures—those who were crucial to assisting the Space Agency in the space race. The women helped calculate the Apollo 11 mission to land the first astronaut on …
Energy briefs
** The Justice Department filed suit Wednesday seeking more than $100 million from the owner and operator of the container ship that destroyed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore killing six and paralyzing a major transportation artery for the U.S. Northeast. The department is seeking to recover what the U.S. spent in responding to the disaster and …
Interest rate cut led to drop in crude oil prices
The rate cut announced Wednesday by the Federal Reserve made crude oil investors wonder about the health of the U.S. economy and as a result, crude oil prices dropped. At the same time, the U.S. experienced a crude oil inventory decrease. The crude inventory fell 1.6 million barrels, far more than the 500,000 barrel decrease …
Two Oklahoma tribes to receive nearly $5 million to target abandoned wells
Nearly $5 million is being given by the Biden administration to Oklahoma’s Caddo Nation and Osage Nation to use to plug abandoned oil and gas wells. Indian Country Today reported the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma will receive $3,707,129 in program development and implementation grant funding, and the Osage Nation will receive $1 million in program development grant …
New Mexico regulators cancel wells linked to earthquakes in Permian Basin
While west Texas and the Permian Basin felt a 5.1 magnitude earthquake this week, New Mexico regulators dealt with the cancellation of 75 waste water injection wells they believe were tied to earthquakes in their state’s part of the Basin. The New Mexico Oil Conservation division cancelled the wells along the state’s southern …