A bill born partially out of protests by environmentalists against oil and natural gas pipelines in North Dakota has been signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin. House Bill 1123, authored by Rep. Scott Biggs, R-Chickasha, creates a new misdemeanor level and two new felony levels for trespassing. “This law isn’t about lost hunters or …
Kansas grabbed a lot of the headlines in this week’s release of the first quarter 2017 Market report from the American Wind Energy Association. The report showed Kansas finished behind only Texas in new wind installations during the quarter. Nearly 500 MW of new in-state capacity came online and the state will soon top 5,000 …
“The fact is, you cannot lock up votes and say ‘unless you give me 100% of everything I want, I’m gonna take my toys and go home’, you just can’t do that.” It’s how Gov. Mary Fallin describes the growing battle between Republicans and Democrats in the legislature over how to resolve the state’s …
Those 75-mile-an hour winds that hit Oklahoma City over the weekend devastated some oil and gas historical items located at the Oklahoma History Center. Among the losses…a restored wooden derrick and a derrick installed at the Capitol in 1934 and relocated just 12 years ago when the new history center opened. “What we’re doing right …
It might not be the kind of ‘line drawn in the sand’ by President Obama a few years ago, but one has been drawn by Democrats in the Oklahoma House of Representatives in what has become a growing war over taxes on the oil and gas industry. “The message is this—-it’s time to come …
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt says critics of President Trump’s executive order declaring an end to President Obama’s “war on coal” have it wrong. Writing this week in the Washington Times, the former Oklahoma Attorney General stated the Trump administration is not turning its back on a clean environment and regulation altogether. He said the “war …
As Oklahoma City University economist Dr. Russell Evans looks at Oklahoma’s economy and how this year, the legislature is strapped with a financial crisis, he believes next year will be a far different story. He predicts the economic recovery is already underway in the state, one led by the oil and gas industry improvements. “The …
With increased employment in the oil and gas sector in the state, the Oklahoma Energy Index has moved higher marking the eighth month i the last 10 that industry activity has grown. “The industry improvement shown in eight of the last 10 months is a sign for optimism,” said Chris Mostek, senior vice president of …
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s decision to back out of being a speaker at an Oklahoma Republican party fundraiser now has Democrats on a U.S. Senate Committee wanting to know more about it. After all, it was their letter and complaint that he had violated the Hatch Act which prompted the former Oklahoma Attorney General to pull …
In an amended annual report filed May 1 with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Oklahoma City-based Chaparral Energy revealed more of its financial transactions following its emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The SEC report showed the federal Bankruptcy court approved a retirement agreement with former Chairman and CEO Mark A. Fischer. While his base salary …