** More than 5 million barrels of oil that were part of a historic U.S. emergency oil reserves release aimed at lowering domestic fuel prices were exported to Europe and Asia last month, according to data and sources, even as U.S. gasoline and diesel prices touched record highs. ** Amazon.com Inc founder Jeff Bezos renewed his spat …
Sen. Lankford is told regulators are to blame for high energy costs
In his latest episode of The Breakdown with James Lankford, the Oklahoma Senator is told by a MP Morgan executive there’s not much the country can do to lower the skyrocketing gasoline prices. And the blame rests not so much with the oil and gas industry but the regulators. The program focused on energy costs to …
U.S. rig count dropped while Oklahoma was unchanged
The nation’s rig numbers slipped in the past week while in Oklahoma, drilling activity held its own, remaining at 60 rigs breaking the horizon. Baker Hughes Co. reported on Friday the national rig count slipped by 3 to 750. The number of oil rigs dropped by one to 595 while the number of gas …
Chesapeake leaders acquire more company shares
Just a few days after Chesapeake Energy doubled its share buyback offer from $1 billion to $2 billion, some executives in the company acquired more shares in the Oklahoma City company. The expanded buyback program was announced June 22 and reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show at least three …
BLM conducts lease sale of Oklahoma and New Mexico land
The sale of federal land oil and gas drilling leases in Oklahoma and New Mexico on Thursday netted the government about $632,000 according to an announcement by the Bureau of Land Management. The BLM said the total amount of land acquired in the lease purchases was 535 acres in the two states and the …
Other energy news headlines
** Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc said it has bought another 9.9 million shares of Occidental Petroleum Corp, giving it a 17.4% stake in the oil company. The company paid $582 million for the additional shares according to a late Friday filing with the SEC. ** Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell threatened to derail a bill …
$270 million acquisition expands Ascent’s holdings in Ohio
Oklahoma City’s Ascent Resources, LLC announced its holdings in the Utica Shale in Ohio were expanded with the $270 million acquisition of new assets. The company did not identify the seller but said the acquisition expands Ascent’s asset base in the Ohio Utica Shale play by ~26,800 net acres and increases net production by …
Grid operator says 100 degree weather in Oklahoma will be closely watched
With 100 degree weather in Oklahoma and the rest of the nearby states part of this week’s forecast, electricity demand will be high enough that the Southwest Power Pool is closely monitoring the power demand. On Saturday, it issued what is called a Conservative Operations Advisory for its entire 14-state Balancing Authority footprint in …
OGE implements new rate hike while awaiting final regulatory approval
Oklahoma Gas and Electric was allowed to immediately implement a $30 million settlement of its original $163.5 million rate hike request because state law allowed it. The company implemented the new rate hike, amounting to 1.9% or $2.07 more a month for an average residential customer, within hours after reaching a Joint Stipulation and …
Producers still active in STACK and SCOOP plays in Oklahoma
Newly-filed completion reports show a few Oklahoma energy companies were busy drilling wells in the STACK and SCOOP plays of the state. Continental Resources reported completion of two Blaine County wells drilled on the same pad with combined production of about 600 barrels of oil a day, but gas production of more than 18,000 …
