March 24, 2025 archive

Trump’s tariff on Venezuelan oil sends crude prices up 1%

  The move by President Donald Trump to hit countries that buy oil and gas from Venezuela with a 25% tariff sent crude oil prices up by 1% in Monday’s trading. At the same time, most Oklahoma energy stocks recorded gains of 5% and 6% for the day. West Texas Intermediate rose 83 cents for …

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Higher oil and gas royalty rates only the governor’s signature away from becoming law in New Mexico

    Oil and gas companies, including those from Oklahoma with operations in the Permian Basin of New Mexico might soon be forced to pay higher royalties after the state’s legislature passed a bill calling for the increase. The New Mexico House of Representatives voted recently 37-31 to raise the maximum royalty rate on premium …

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Walmart challenges Costco with more gas stations

  Walmart has decided to go toe-to-toe with Costco and is doing it by opening and remodeling more than 450 fuel and convenience stations by the end of the year. It intends to carry out the expanded operations at stores in 34 states as it tries to blunt the competition of Costco with its more …

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Changing tide in New England about natural gas pipelines

  We’re not the only news group to report on the growing interest in natural gas line development in New England. So is E&E News which carried a story this week about the pipeline debate being resurrected by President Trump who supports construction of gas pipelines in the northeast, an area whose Democratic governors rejected …

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Landowners fight transmission line bill

  Just as some Oklahoma landowners have voiced opposition to the way they are treated by electrical transmission line developers, so is the same debate in North Dakota. They recently made their arguments known in the legislature against a bill to remove zoning decisions for such projects away from local governments and put it in …

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Williams strengthens need for natural gas to power data centers

  When Williams CEO Alan Armstrong said in a recent interview that the New England states were losing out in the race for data centers, it was largely because of their past opposition to natural gas. Natural gas-powered generators are running more and more data centers as they are being built throughout the rest of …

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Parts of Oklahoma still face growing wildfire threats

  Thanks to decreasing winds, firefighters across Oklahoma have slowly gained more control of the deadly wildfires that scorched tens of thousands of acres and left four persons dead in the past two weeks. A new update from the Oklahoma Forestry Services office showed some of the larger fires were 60% and 70% under control. …

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“Energy Day” planned in Oklahoma House as energy bills will be considered

  The state House is scheduled to take up a number of energy-related bills on Wednesday. It’s a day set aside as “energy day” and the House of Representatives will begin consideration of the energy bills beginning at 1:30 p.m. Among the bills, according to a Facebook posting by Rep. Jim Shaw, will be wind …

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Energy briefs

** President Trump announced Monday that all countries that purchase oil or gas from Venezuela will be subject to a 25% tariff on all trade with the US, marking one of the harshest economic crackdowns on the dictator regime yet. ** U.S. Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum has called for U.S. power plants to …

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Bill favoring natural gas over wind and solar approved in Texas Senate

  The Texas Senate has passed a bill that is similar to one in Oklahoma’s legislature but would also penalize renewable energy sources in the state. SB 388 would set a target for 50% of new power plant capacity to be “sourced from dispatchable generation other than battery energy storage.” An earlier version of the …

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