**The Environmental Protection Agency has placed roughly 140 employees on administrative leave days after they signed a public letter expressing concern about the treatment of federal employees and the Trump administration’s regulations on climate and public health. ** The arbitrators in a legal dispute between Exxon Mobil and Hess have reached a decision related to a major …
More oil and gas rig losses reported in US and Oklahoma
Just as the nation’s number of active oil and gas rigs has been declining over the past few months, Oklahoma is joining the movement. The nation’s count dropped by 8 to 539 rigs. The latest Baker Hughes rig count, released on Thursday, showed the number of active rigs pursuing new oil and gas resources …
Appeals Court upholds ruling against widow of gas rig worker killed 9 years ago
A widow’s challenge of a Coal County District Judge’s decision in the Dec.. 18, 2014 natural gas rig fire and explosion that killed three men lost her appeal to the Oklahoma State Court of Civil Appeals. In a ruling by Judges Jane P. Wiseman, John F. Fische and Gregory C. Blackwell, the judges …
NextEra Energy challenges Wagoner County Commission’s denial of 5,000-acre solar farm
NextEra Energy Resources isn’t giving up the fight to locate a 5,000-acre solar farm in northeast Oklahoma’s Wagoner County near the town of Porter. The company, using the name of its proposed solar farm, Persica Solar, LLC, filed a challenge of the Wagoner County Commission’s late June vote of 3-0 to deny a conditional …
State Transportation Commission to meet Monday to consider changes to state’s 5-year plan
Some changes are coming in Oklahoma’s plans for the future when it comes to road and bridge improvements. The Oklahoma Transportation Commission meets Monday and one of the items before members will be the approval of the new edition of the County Improvements for Roads and Bridges 5-year Construction Work Plan. In 2024, …
Crude oil prices slipped on eve of July 4 holiday
Thursday, the last trading day before the July 4th holiday in the U.S. brought a slight decline in crude oil prices and it was largely blamed on concerns that U.S. tariffs might slow energy demand. The President’s 90-day pause on higher tariffs comes to an end on July 9 and some large trading partners, …
Governor says his state is the country’s national security shield when it comes to oil
Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy is unabashed in his declaration that the oil in Alaska is the country’s national security security. Saying it’s a “new day” with President Trump in the White House, the governor proclaimed his state, with proven reserves of 3.4 billion barrels of oil and 125 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, …
Iran’s latest decision sent crude oil prices upward
When Iran ended its cooperation with the U.N. nuclear watchdog, crude oil investors responded with increased trading, no doubt because of concerns that Middle East oil production might be interrupted. As a result, crude oil prices rose 3% on Wednesday. One positive note was the trade deal reached between the U.S. and Vietnam. Prices …
Waiting and watching—LSB’s Mark Behrman
One Oklahoma City energy executive paying close attention to the One Big Beautiful Bill is Mark Behrman, President and CEO at LSB Industries Inc. He will be focused on the energy tax credits that could be affected. LSB Industries is one company that is taking advantage of some of those credits and Berhman …
Stored crude oil increased in total across the US but declined at Oklahoma’s Cushing Hub
The amount of crude oil in storage across the U.S. inceased by nearly 4 million barrels at the end of June, according to the latest crude report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration. Oklahoma saw a decline in its oil held in storage at the Cushing Hub. The U.S. total went from 415.1 …