Major improvements are coming for interstates in Oklahoma City as a result of action taken Monday by the Oklahoma Transportation Commission. The projects involve an estimated $110 million in repairs. The Commission approved contracts for projects including the replacement of six bridges on Interstate 40 in Del City. It also okayed the improvements and repairs …
Feds delay more sales of oil and gas leases
The federal government has delayed more scheduled oil and gas lease sales. Reuters reports the latest include two auctions that had been set for later in June following the May delay of a major sale in New Mexico. The moves mark a shift for the U.S. Department of Interior, which had proceeded with a slew …
Petroleum Alliance leader remains optimistic about industry’s future
The new leader of the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma remains optimistic about the future of the state’s oil and gas industry, despite the historic impact on exploration and production as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price crisis. It’s what Brook A. Simmons expresses a month after he became president of the Alliance, …
Purchase price revealed for former Hertz center in OKC
The building that was once the Hertz administrative offices in Oklahoma City sold for more than $25 million in last week’s deal following the layoffs of hundreds of Hertz workers. As we reported earlier this week, Costco purchased the four-story building for an operations center. A report in the Oklahoman revealed the purchase price …
US oil futures dropped Monday while Brent rose
As tensions rose between Beijing and Washington over the prospects for crude demand, U.S. benchmark oil futures settled lower on Monday. But overseas, prices were up on reports that OPEC will meet June 4 to discuss a possible extension to the existing crude outputs. West Texas Intermediate crude for July delivery dropped 5 cents …
NGL Energy Partners reports 4Q loss of $223 million and $1 billion increase in debt
Tulsa-based NGL Energy Partners LP reported its fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2020 results revealing fourth quarter losses of $223 million, including a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of $250 million and a $1 billion increase in company debt. The $250 impairment was in the company’s Water Solutions segment. For the full fiscal year, NGL …
More solar power being expanded in Taos
A northern New Mexico power company is planning extensive expansion of its solar operations. Taos-based Kit Carson Electric Cooperative’s largest solar array to date came online May 14, but the power company is developing two much larger facilities as it seeks to achieve 100 percent daytime solar energy by 2022 according to the Santa Fe …
Electricity use slumps during pandemic
American Electric Power, the parent company to Public Service of Oklahoma reports a drop in the electricity use by its customers in 11 states during the month of April. AEP confirmed weather-normalized retail load for April dropped 4.3% compared to April 2019 with a 6% increase in residential sales, most likely caused by stay-at-home orders …
Boil order issued for water system in Payne County
E. coli has been found in a water system in Payne County, resulting in a boil order issued by the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has advised the MRT Properties water system, located in Payne County, to inform users of its drinking water to use water that has been brought to a …
Energy news in brief
** A new report reveals oil and gas drilling has reached its lowest level since 1949 because of oil price volatility and the coronavirus crisis. ** OPEC+ members are in talks to lengthen current crude oil output curbs instead of loosening the restrictions as envisioned in their April agreement, per reports in Bloomberg and Reuters. ** The closing of the $252 million bankruptcy sale …