** President Joe Biden is set to unveil another batch of executive action related to climate change this week, including for his Climate Leaders’ Summit and ordering a pause on new oil, gas and coal leases on federal lands. ** In a recent note from Goldman Sachs, commodities analysts noted that Biden’s initial executive orders – which …
Oklahoma legislators to be kept busy with energy bills
The Oklahoma House of Representatives announced the filing deadline for new bills to be handled by the first session of the 58th legislature resulted in more than 1,900 measures introduced by legislators. The 1,942 House Bills included at least 31 bills filed to focus on energy issues. The total number compared to 1,361 House …
More Obama workers return to EPA
Little wonder that Biden-administration critics contend it’s nothing but a remake of the Obama administration prompting some to call it the O’Biden administration. Even when it comes to energy and the environment. Check the list of new leaders of the Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration. POLITICO reported that Dan Utech, a …
Native American tribe at odds with Biden’s freeze on federal drilling permits
President Biden’s freeze announced last week on oil and gas leasing and permitting on federal and tribal lands produced something of a fiery response from one Native American tribe that produces oil from its lands. Leaders of the Ute Indian tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation contend the order was a violation of …
Signs of a struggling oil and gas industry in Oklahoma
That’s a rare sight these days in Oklahoma. A drilling rig with activity around it. The latest Baker Hughes Company report indicated Oklahoma had only 17 rigs actively drilling for oil and gas in the past week. A drive in western Oklahoma reveals the stark reality of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic—the plunge …
Rail fight underway in Southern Colorado
A billionaire and the Fort Worth-based Rio Grande Pacific Corp. are in the middle of a rail fight in southern Colorado. The Rio Grande has the lease to run trains on the dormant lines linking Canon City and Dotsero, but billionaire grain and hemp baron Stefan Soloviev has his plans too. He wants the …
Oklahoma regulators argue they have energy regulatory power over tribal lands
While Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to hold negotiations with leaders of the five Civilized Tribes to discuss how to move ahead from the McGirt Supreme Court ruling, a State Supreme Court case is slowly proceeding on the question—who has regulatory authority over the tribal lands? The State? Or the Tribes? So far, the …
Taking advantage of demise of Keystone XL pipeline
President Biden’s cancellation of the US permit allowing construction of the Keystone XL pipeline is likely to have a positive impact on a rival pipeline in Canada and result in more long-term contracts for Enbridge Inc which runs North America’s Mainline oil network. Reports indicate Enbridge, based in Canada will sell long-term contracts for …
Oklahoma Governor wants to hold negotiations with tribes over Supreme Court ruling
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to hold talks with Indian leaders to discuss how to proceed from last summer’s US Supreme Court ruling that in essence gave enforcement and regulatory authority to Indian Tribes covering nearly half of the state. “Now is the time to roll up our sleeves to resolve the issues raised …
OCC website to be down for a few hours on Tuesday
The website of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission will be down temporarily on Tuesday, Jan. 26, according to an announcement by the agency. “The Corporation Commission’s website will be unavailable Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2021 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. CST. This will allow the state agency that manages our Information Technology services to make necessary maintenance updates. …