Author's posts
BLM Relents—-Grants Drilling Permit After Lawsuit was Filed By EnerVest
After filing suit when the Bureau of Land Management refused to issue oil and gas drilling permits in Utah to Texas-based EnerVest, the BLM has come through but only after a federal judge ordered it to do so. The BLM issued the permits this week. Last month, EnerVest, based in Houston, went to court after …
Oil Futures Trader Gets Prison Time for Ponzi Scheme
A New York oil futures trader gets ten years in prison for running a Ponzi scheme which bilked investors out of more than $1.4 million. A Texas federal judge sentenced Christopher Donrick Daley this week after Daley was convicted last September following a two-day jury trial on wire and mail fraud charges. The judge …
Inhofe Vows for Quick Committee Approval of Pruitt to Head EPA
Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s wasting little time in pumping hands and seeking support for confirmation to take over the U.S.Environmental Protection Agency. He met Tuesday in Washington with Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe who was chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and is now its senior member. It was …
HollyFrontier Takes Advantage of Refinery Downtime
Dallas-based HollyFrontier Corporation says while unplanned maintenance and cold weather affected some of its refinery operations, its Tulsa refinery is accelerating maintenance. The Tulsa refinery experienced rate reduction in December because of unplanned issues with its reforming units. The company indicated it is taking advantage of the down time. The work will focus on the …
Williams Partners a Step Closer to Final FERC Approval of Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline
The federal government’s signed off on another step of Tulsa’s Williams Partners and its plan to construct the Atlantic Sunrise expansion project, an expansion of the existing Transco natural gas pipeline to connect Marcellus gas supplies with markets in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern U.S. The final Environmental Impact Statement was published Dec. 30 by the …
Clean Air Moms Target Pruitt’s EPA Nomination
The latest group to target Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt and his nomination by Donald Trump to head the Environmental Protection Agency is spending six figures in an online and TV ad campaign against him. Clean Air Moms Action is urging senators to vote against Pruitt’s confirmation and is running ads in Florida, Maine, Nevada, …
Transportation Commission to Consider RR Improvements
Millions of dollars in railroad safety projects are expected to be approved Wednesday when the Oklahoma Transportation Commission holds its first meeting of 2017. Eleven railroad signal projects are on the agenda, each ranging in cost from a low of $244,000 up to $488,000. The projects are in Adair, Wagoner, Sequoyah, LeFlore, Oklahoma, Grady, …
More Earthquakes Rattle Pawnee
Not one but three strong earthquakes hit the Pawnee area Monday morning and afternoon. Each measured 3 point 2 magnitude or more. The strongest was 3 point 7 magnitude. The US Geological Survey also says they occurred in the same area where a 5 point 8 magnitude quake rocked Pawnee last fall.
Monthly Index Suggests Slow Improvement of Economy in Oklahoma and 8 Midwestern States
Maybe rising oil prices have contributed to a slowly-improving economy in Oklahoma. It’s a possible indication from the monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Index report released Tuesday by Creighton University economist Ernie Goss. He says the monthly survey of business supply managers suggest economic conditions are improving in nine Midwest and Plains states, including Oklahoma. …
Democrats Make it Official—-Pruitt and 7 Other Trump Nominees are in Their Political Sights
If Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt didn’t know it last month, he knows now. He will officially be targeted by Democrats in the U.S. when confirmation hearings begin for him to become Donald Trump’s chief administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Democrats came out this week led by New York Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) …