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Tapstone’s Tom Ward Says $75 oil is Needed for Major Jump in Oil Production
Oklahoma City based-Tapstone Energy chairman Tom Ward says if the nation is ever going to see any major increase in oil exploration and production, prices will have to hit $75 a barrel. Not $50. It’s what Ward told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in a recent appearance, stating, “In our business, the dirty little secret is you …
Oklahoma’s Job Rate Grows—So does Government Employment
Oklahoma’s employment number sagged more causing the state’s unemployment rate to increase by a tenth of a percentage point to reach 4.5 percent, according to recent numbers released by the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission. The movement upward represented the fourth straight month of increases while the 4.5 percent rate was also two-tenths of a point …
Downturn Claims Another Bakken Oil Firm
While the oil boom continues falling apart in North Dakota, it has claimed the venture capital firm, Intervention Energy, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in recent days. The firm, one of the largest companies focused on developing the Bakken and three forks areas in the Williston Basin, listed more than $140 million in debt …
Gas Firm Appeals 10th Circuit Court Judge’s Antitrust Ruling
A natural gas company isn’t ready to give up its antitrust claims against two Texas companies even after 10th U.S. Circuit court Judge Richard Matsch in Denver, Colorado ruled against it last year. Buccaneer Energy, a Nevada Corporation is appealing the judge’s ruling that show down its antitrust lawsuit filed in 2012 against SG Interest, …
Williams Files Another Lawsuit over Pending Merger With Energy Transfer Equity
Speculation grows that a lawsuit filed Saturday by Tulsa-based Williams Companies Inc. to stop Energy Transfer Equity LP from ending its merger with the company will cause a delay in the multi-billion dollar buyout. Over the weekend, ETE, based in Dallas indicated that prior to the lawsuit, progress was being made toward finalizing the merger. But …
Tribes Fight Expansion of Oil Pipeline between U.S. and Canada
In a move that many expect will dramatically increase the number of oil tankers moving through the waters between the U.S. and Canada, Canadian energy regulators are recommending approval of Kinder Morgan Canada’s plan to nearly triple pipeline capacity. The $5.4 billion Trans Mountain project will carry an estimated 890,000 barrels of crude oil a …
Oil and Saltwater Spill in North Dakota
State officials in North Dakota are investigating a saltwater spill from an oilfield tank that overflowed last week near the city of Marmarth. The North Dakota Department of Health estimated 16,800 gallon spilled in the overflow along with more than 100,000 gallons of saltwater and oil. Marmarth is a town in southwest North Dakota and …
Rural Landowners Rush to Register Private Air Strips in Advance of Wind Farms
The growth of wind farms across Oklahoma and a year-old state law has private pilots moving to register their private air strips, many in western Oklahoma, according to a report by The Oklahoman. As Paul Monies for the newspaper found out, there is a rush on to register the air trips with the Federal Aviation …
Senate Energy and Water Bill Includes Funding for Several Oklahoma Projects
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe says the just passed Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act included priorities for Oklahoma he inserted into H.R. 2028. The measure passed on a 90-8 vote. “As passed by the Senate, the Energy and Water Development Appropriations Act will improve water supply and quality in Western Oklahoma …
Nation’s Rig Count Drops while Oklahoma’s Grows
While the national rig count slipped by 2 in the past week to reach a total of 404, the count in Oklahoma increased by one to reach a total of 57 working oil and gas rigs, according to the latest data from Baker Hughes Company of Houston, Texas. The national count shows 318 working oil …