Author's posts
OSAGE Tribe Reviewing EPA Well Shutdown Plan
An Osage tribal leader is reviewing earthquake and wastewater injection well plans produced in the wake of the historic 5.8 magnitude earthquake near Pawnee. At the same time, Everett Waller, Chairman of the Osage Minerals Council is promising to do what he can to protect his people. “The safety and welfare of our people is …
OERB Sails Through State Audit
The Oklahoma Energy Resources Board gets a passing grade from State Auditor and Inspector Gary Jones. “The Agency’s internal controls provided reasonable assurance that expenditures were accurately reported in the accounting records,” stated Jones in a recent audit covering July 1, 201 through June 30, 2015. “No exceptions were noted as a result of our …
Oklahoma’s Gasoline Prices Drop to $2.04 average
Oklahoma gasoline prices dropped again in the past week, falling two more cents a gallon to reach a new state average of $2.04 a gallon, according to AAA Oklahoma. The organization reports that is nine cents below the average recorded at the end of August. “It’s interesting to note that gas prices in all Oklahoma …
Groups Ask Feds to Return Lesser Prairie Chicken to Endangered Species List
The fight over the lesser prairie chicken might not be finished. A coalition of environmental groups has filed a petition with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contending that the bird remains in danger of extinction. The filing came only four months after the federal government gave up a court fight to keep the bird …
Senators Accuse EPA Director of Failing to Keep Transparency Commitments
Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe and 10 Republicans who sit on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee he chairs want EPA director Gina McCarthy to turn over information about EPA litigation and regulatory actions planned for the remainder of the Obama Administration. In a letter sent Wednesday, the Senators charged the EPA with “exposing …
BNSF Railway fights Sierra Club over ‘Coal Dust’ Lawsuit
The Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Company is fighting a Sierra Club lawsuit in Washington State, calling the suit a “logically meritless” challenge. BNSF, the railway that rolls throughout Oklahoma carrying Wyoming coal to electric-generating plants responded this week to the late July lawsuit in which the Sierra Club claimed coal dust regularly flies off trains …
EPA Puts Gold King Mine to Superfund List
The abandoned Colorado gold mine that contaminated rivers in three states and drew the attention of Oklahoma U.S. Sen. Jim Inhofe is now on the Superfund list of the Environmental Protection Agency. The announcement was made this week by the EPA, the very agency blamed for causing the environmental disaster last year near Durango, Colorado. …
Apache Oil Claims Discovery of Massive New Oil Field in West Texas
The oil and gas world is abuzz over this week’s announcement of a massive oil find in the Davis Mountains of West Texas by Houston-based Apache Corporation. Apache calls it the Alpine High discovery that could contain three billion barrels of oil and 75 trillion cubic feet of gas. “Today’s announcement is the culmination of …
Corporation Commission Dismisses $16 billion Refund Case involving Bribed Vote
“If they think bribery is good, that’s not Oklahoma law.” Ret. Gen. Richard Burpee The 2-1 vote by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to dismiss the efforts of consumers for nearly $16 billion in refunds from Southwestern Bell did not come as a surprise to those making the challenge. Commissioners Todd Hiett and Dana Murphy voted …
Magellan Midstream Offers $500 million in Senior Notes
TULSA, Okla., Sept. 6, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Magellan Midstream Partners, L.P. (NYSE: MMP) announced today that it has priced $500 million of its 4.25% senior notes due 2046. The notes were priced at 98.762% of par to yield 4.324% to maturity. The partnership intends to use the net proceeds from this offering of approximately $488.7 million, …