January 2025 archive

Reduced gross production tax suggested in legislative bills

  Two bills filed in the Oklahoma legislature to be considered in the upcoming legislative session call for lower gross production taxes on oil and gas production in the state. Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, introduced SB311 which would lower the state’s current 7% gross production tax to 5%. “Upon the production of oil a tax …

Continue reading »

Texas had most renewable energy projects in 2024

    A review of the nation’s big clean energy projects built in 2024 were in the state of Texas. The analysis showed Texas also leads the U.S. in installed utility-scale solar and wind capacity and is making headway on battery storage projects. New data from Cleanview, shared exclusively with Canary Media, shows the 25 biggest clean energy …

Continue reading »

Energy briefs

** As promised, President Donald Trump began reversing the country’s energy policies his first day in office with a spate of orders largely favoring oil, gas and coal. But there is one renewable energy that did find favor: geothermal. Energy experts say that makes sense — geothermal energy makes electricity 24/7. Many people working in the field …

Continue reading »

Lucas to chair House subcommittee on Conservation

  During the House Agriculture Committee’s organizational meeting, Congressman Frank Lucas (OK-03) was named the chair of the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology. He will also serve on the Subcommittee on Commodity Markets, Digital Assets, and Rural Development. He is the most senior Republican on the committee. Congressman Lucas released the following quote after …

Continue reading »

State Treasurer upset over supreme court ruling

Oklahoma State Treasurer Todd Russ expressed deep concerns today over the Supreme Court’s decision to allow enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA), a law he contends hurts small businesses in the country. This federal requirement mandates owners of over 32.6 million small businesses nationwide to register personal information, including photo IDs and home addresses, …

Continue reading »

First woman chair of Tulsa Port Authority

  For the first time in the history of the City of Tulsa-Rogers County Port Authority, a woman has been named Chair of the Board. Deanne Dutton Hughes, who has served on the Board since 2021 is the first woman to hold the position with the Port Authority in its 54 years of operation. She …

Continue reading »

Crude oil prices drop as Trump calls on OPEC to lower prices

  As President Trump urged Saudi Arabia and OPEC to lower the costs of oill, crude oil prices fell 1% on Thursday. Trump made the call during an address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. At the same time, U.S. crude oil stockpiles slipped to their lowest level since March 2022 last week …

Continue reading »

Ethics Commission confirms investigation of Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett

  The State Ethics Commission confirmed this week it is conducting an investigation into complaints against Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett who stands accused of criminal wrongdoing over drunken incidents last year and violation of state ethics rules. The complaints were originally filed by Reps. Tom Gann, Kevin West and Rick West. NonDoc reported the ethics …

Continue reading »

Decline in crude oil supplies at Cushing and the U.S.

  Crude oil supplies fell both nationally and at the Cushing Hub in Oklahoma as of the most reporting period from the federal government. The Energy Information Administration reported a decline of 1 million barrels nationally. As of the week of Jan. 17, the U.S. crude stocks totaled 411.7 million barrels, down from the 412.7 …

Continue reading »

Kansas broadband grants draw complaints

    Kansas legislators heard complaints this week about how the millions of dollars in rural broadband expansion grants were handed out. Cox Communications and the Communications Coalition of Kansas complained about how the Department of Commerce has conducted its grant-making process. They also voiced criticism about a lack of transparency in the effort to …

Continue reading »