Author's posts
What Activists Learned from Dakota Access Pipeline Protest
The headlines screaming of the fight against the Dakota Access Pipeline no longer are as many as they once were. But opponents to the North Dakota pipeline say their legal fight is as active as ever in the courts. And if nothing else came out of the protest by Native Americans and thousands of others …
Wind Farm Bills Passed in Oklahoma Senate and House
Two bills related to the wind industry won approval this week in the Oklahoma Senate and House. House Bill 2298, the one targeting the zero-emission tax credit for wind farms was passed on a 40-3 vote in the Senate and sent to the governor. It moves up the qualification date to July 1, 2017, something …
Gasoline Prices Jump in Oklahoma—-Could Go Higher
Gasoline prices are up again in Oklahoma, reaching a new statewide average of $2.15 a gallon, according to the latest price report from AAA Oklahoma. It’s a 9-cent jump compared to one week ago when the average was $2.06. “There are a lot of things putting upward pressure on oil and gas prices,” said …
State Dependent on “Capricious Whims” of Energy Industry
Guthrie Rep Jason Murphey is fighting a new “services” tax by suggesting its proponents are all too eager to have the state continue to be dependent on what he calls the “capricious whims” of the energy sector. Writing in the McCarville Report, the legislator put it this way, “If I were a sneaky out-of-state resident …
Caution Urged in Fence Line Repairs in Wildfire Zones
As farmers and ranchers in northwest Oklahoma work to replace miles and miles of destroyed fence posts from the deadly and disastrous wildfires in March, they are being urged to use caution because of the buried oil and natural gas pipelines. As one drives along the highways near Buffalo, workers are still busy replacing burned …
Keystone XL Opponents in Nebraska Step Up Their Fight
Observers of the fights by environmentalists against corporate energy projects are putting their money on the Keystone XL pipeline project in Nebraska as the site of the next messy protest. With the protesters gone from the site of the last work at the Dakota Access Pipeline in North Dakota, the focus is turning toward TransCanada’s …
Pruitt Hit with FOIA Ethics Request from California Democratic AG
Not just Democrats in the U.S. Senate are bombarding EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt with requests, but so is California Attorney General Xavier Becerra. He is the latest to demand copies of emails and virtually every communication Pruitt has made but this time, the request focuses on ethics issues. Becerra’s request is a formal Freedom of …
Democrats Demand More Answers from Pruitt at EPA
Democrats in the U.S. Senate are still fighting EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt over the move to eliminate the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, sending him a letter demanding answers to what his plans are to replace it. Twenty-three Democrats sent him a recent letter with eight questions about his future plans to replace the Clean …
Can New Oil and Gas Group Convince Legislature to Make Tax Changes?
A week after rallying at the state capitol, members of the newly-formed oil and gas group fighting to have the state apply the 7 percent gross production tax to all wells have to wonder about their prospects of convincing the legislature. Obviously there was a great deal of optimism on the day the Oklahoma Energy …
Oil and Gas Rig Counts Grow in Oklahoma and the U.S.
Oil and gas rig counts increased in Oklahoma and the nation in the past week with Oklahoma adding four to reach a total of 122. The U.S. count added 15 to hit 839. The nationwide count added 10 more oil rigs to reach 672 while the number of gas rigs grew by 5 to hit …