** An oil tanker off Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jiddah suffered an explosion early Monday after being hit by “an external source,” a shipping company said, suggesting another vessel has come under attack off the kingdom amid its yearslong war in Yemen reported the Associated Press. The Singapore-flagged BW Rhine saw all 22 sailors on …
Another natural gas power plant to be closed
Luminant says it will shut down a natural gas-fired Trinidad Power Plant in the spring of the year, ending a 55 year history of producing electricity for the region southeast of Dallas, Texas. The Athens Review reported the company had informed the Electric Reliability Council of Texas of its plans for the shutdown. Click …
SandRidge makes $47 million sale of North Park Basin assets
Oklahoma City’s SandRidge Energy on Monday announced the $47 million sale of its North Park Basin Assets in Colorado to Gondola Resources, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company backed by Fulcrum Energy Capital Funds. It is the latest divestiture made by the Oklahoma energy company. Gondola is based in Frisco, Texas and formed in 2015 …
Tar sands oil liked by Wall Street investors
Canada’s oil sands are starting to become more and more favorable in the eyes of Wall Street analysts and investors. Bloomberg reports the Canadian oil sands companies are coming out of the downturn with a greater standing among those who look to making the best and strongest investments. The product has reportedly become even …
Supreme court to decide regulators’ power over Oklahoma Indian land
The Oklahoma Supreme Court has decided it will hear arguments against the State Corporation Commission’s move to regulate energy activities within the historical boundaries of Oklahoma’s Five Civilized Tribes. It issued a one-sentence order last week stating that it will review the decision which was made as a result of the US Supreme Court …
BLM’s move to Colorado still being debated
Just as Joe Biden apparently will take the oath of office to become the next President of the United States, the Bureau of Land Management will be making its headquarters in Grand Junction, Colorado. The agency’s lease on its current headquarters building in Washington DC expires at the end of this month. The move, …
Friday wasn’t a good day for most energy stocks
Crude oil futures closed down on Friday with West Texas Intermediate crude slipping 21 cents to finish the day at $45.57 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Trading prices of crude for January delivery had reached more than $47 throughout the day before settling lower for a loss of 0.47%. …
Big jump in US rig count
The U.S. saw its biggest rig count in months last week when the number of oil and gas rigs jumped by 15 to reach 338. Oklahoma’s count increased by one to reach 14, still lagging far behind the 50 working rigs reported last year at this time. The US count included 12 more oil …
Oklahoma’s first public transit plan delivered to Legislature
(Pictured, from left, are Sen. Michael Bergstrom, Rep. Avery Frix, OTA Chief Executive Officer Mark Nestlen, Rep. Carol Bush and Secretary of Transportation and ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz.) Oklahoma’s first-ever transit plan created by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation and the Oklahoma Transit Association is now in the hands of legislative leaders. …
Judge halts environmental waivers by Texas regulators
A Texas judge has stepped in and ruled the state’s Railroad Commission cannot enforce a series of emergency environmental rule-waivers it adopted last spring. Bloomberg reports the main oil regulator is prohibited from waiving the environmental rules and fees, steps taken to help oil and gas drillers deal with the plunge in crude …