April 16, 2025 archive

Scott Mitchell talks energy with Jerry Bohnen—recalling the OKC bombing and another lawsuit against Todd Hiett

  Scott Mitchell talks energy with Jerry Bohnen and the two have their own memories of the Oklahoma City bombing,  plus discussion about a legislator’s latest attempt to stop Corporation Commissioner Todd Hiett from voting in some rate cases.  

New sanctions sent oil prices up 2% for 2-week high

  As Oklahoma energy stocks were split in Wednesday’s trading, crude oil prices bounced back nearly 2% to reach a two-week high. The gain on crude prices came because of reported worries about global supplies following the Trump administration’s decision on Wednesday to issue new sanctions against Chinese importers of oil from Iran. Reuters explained …

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Latest private meeting by state regulators longer than public session

    Within minutes of concluding their regular public meeting on Tuesday, Oklahoma Corporation Commissioners almost immediately held another meeting, one that did not include the public and fell under the new state law allowing gatherings exempt from the Open Meeting Law. A filing of the Open Meeting Act Exempt Event Compliance Form on Wednesday …

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US crude oil stocks increased nationally but not at Cushing Hub

  The country’s supply of crude oil grew by 600,000 barrels in the most recent reporting period according to the government, but storage at the Cushing hub in Oklahoma took a drop of about the same amount. The U.S. Energy Information Administration reported U.S. crude stocks went from 442.3 million barrels the week of April …

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Valero to close California refinery

  Valero’s announced it intends to idle or shut down its Benecia Refinery in California in a year. The company said its subsidiary, Valero Refining Company-California submitted notice to the California Energy Commission of its current intent to idle, restructure, or cease refining operations at Valero’s Benicia Refinery by the end of April 2026. One …

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Kansas legislators try to woo data centers through tax incentives

  The Kansas Legislature is taking steps in an attempt to attract even more large data centers. But the tax incentives also include some restrictions on the ability of such operations to build their own power plants. As the Kansas Reflector reports, the original bill was introduced by NetChoice, the trade group representing online firms …

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Energy briefs

** Honda is reportedly preparing to significantly expand its US manufacturing footprint by up to 30% over the next two to three yearsin response to the Trump administration’s sweeping new tariffs on foreign imports. The Japanese automaker is considering shifting production of several key models from Mexico and Canada to the US. ** Dallas-based Vaquero Midstream, a natural …

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US crude oil production went up 2% in 2024

Data source: U.S. Energy Information Administration, Short-Term Energy Outlook, April 2025 A new report shows just how much U.S. crude oil production rose in the past year and much of the credit goes to exploration in the Permian Basin. The U.S. Energy Information Administration stated in a newly-released report that U.S. crude oil production grew by 270,000 barrels per …

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NextEra Energy 1Q results to be released

  After earnings of more than $1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, NextEra Energy plans to unveil its first quarter 2025 results next week. The Florida firm, with heavy commitments in Oklahoma’s wind and solar industry, will release the results before the opening of the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, April 23, …

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Montana ratepayers to feel the pain of higher bills

  As Oklahomans wonder just how much their natural gas or electric bills will increase with the latest rate hike request made by utilities, other state residents are doing the same. In Montana, a settlement by Northwestern Energy could result in a more than 9% monthly increase in ratepayers bills or another $4.74 more a …

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