A government report indicated that the natural gas operator involved in a February house explosion that killed a 12-year old girl in Dallas had been alerted 7 weeks earlier of gas leaks in the neighborhood. Atmos Energy is named in a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board which stated the company was made …
Clearing Up a Wind Report
A clarification about our story this week that Chicago-based Invenergy had withdrawn its membership in the Wind Coalition because a state legislator claimed to have found a tracking device on his pickup truck last year. We indicated that Rep. Mark McBride of Moore had accused the Wind Coalition of possibly putting the device on …
Permian Basin Activity Not Boosting New Mexico’s Population
New U.S. Census Bureau figures show populations are not rebounding in the growing oil and gas fields of eastern New Mexico as experts thought they would. Oil prices have rebounded but not the populations especially in the state’s sector of the monster Permian Basin where more than 400 oil and gas rigs are operating. …
Federal Government Won’t Help Fund Rail Improvements at Port of Muskogee
City leaders in Muskogee say they have to resort to other ways to fund rail improvements for the Port of Muskogee after the federal government refused to offer a grant for the nearly $12 million project. The city applied for a so-called TIGER grant or funding through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program. But …
Former Oil Executive to Take Over at Oklahoma City University
Former Chesapeake Energy executive Martha Burger will be taking her managerial expertise to Oklahoma City University in a few months where she will become the school’s first woman president. Burger will be the school’s 18th president, succeeding Robert Henry when he officially retires on June 30. But running OCU is nothing new to Burger who …
Federal Government Pulls Out of Clean Line Energy Transmission Project
The federal government’s withdrawn its participation in a more than 700 mile transmission line from western Oklahoma wind farms to Arkansas and Tennessee. The announcement came nearly two years after the U.S. Department of Energy agree to partner with Houston-based Clean Line Energy Partners in developing the $2.2 billion Plains and Eastern transmission line. The …
Tulsa’s Cypress Energy Reports Improvement in Financial Stability
Tulsa-based Cypress Energy Partners L.P. announced its year-end 2017 earnings report showing a more than 30% increase in net income in the fourth quarter of the year compared to a year ago. Company leaders say it’s a sign things are turning around for the company. Revenue for the fourth quarter was $69.4 million, down from …
Oil Prices Improve Thanks to John Bolton
Crude oil prices climbed above the $65 mark on Friday for the first time since early February and analysts attribute the increase to John Bolton. He’s the outspoken pick by President Trump to be his new U.S. national security adviser. Why would prices go up over Bolton’s appointment? Because many observers believe it will mean …
Congressman Declares Victory Against Privatization of FAA Air Traffic Control
Saying airspace in the U.S. belongs to “we the people”, Oklahoma congressman Steve Russell reports a victory in the fight against those who wanted to privatize the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System. He made the announcement this week in a newsletter to constituents. After leading a long and hard-fought battle against proposed privatization of our …
Appeals Court Upholds Oklahoman’s Lawsuit Against Dredging Operations in Mayes County
Oklahoman David Benham’s lawsuit that accused a sand and gravel company of illegally discharge dredge and fill material into an Oklahoma Creek has been upheld by the Denver Federal Appeals Court. The U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld his citizen lawsuit against Ozark Materials River Rock Company in which the firm was accused of …