A Houston based oil and gas company agreed to pay nearly $35 million to settle claims it underpaid royalties for oil and natural gas removed from leased federal lands in the San Juan Basin of northern New Mexico. Hilcorp San Juan made the $34.6 million agreement, according to an announcement by the U.S. Department …
Lucas committee finds Biden administration used inappropriate influence in environmental contracts
An investigation By Congressman Frank Lucas’s House Science and Space and Technology Committee found evidence of inappropriate influence in the Biden Administration’s Contracting Rulemaking. The White House chose two environmentalist groups with significant ties to Democratic donors to do work over dislosure of greenhouse gas emissions and setting emisson reduction targets. They were …
Energy quick reads
** Sunoco LP and NuStar Energy L.P. (NYSE: NS) (“NuStar”) announced that the parties have entered into a definitive agreement whereby Sunoco will acquire NuStar in an all-equity transaction valued at approximately $7.3 billion, including assumed debt. ** A major U.S. energy developer, Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, has initiated the process of shuttering two major coal-fired power …
Chicago joins movement to ban natural gas
Other major cities hopped on the band wagon to ban natural gas cooking and heating and now Chicago might do the same. Like others that banned natural gas, they were largely Democratic cities. A city council member who is a Democrat says she will introduce the measure this week to forbid natural gas in …
Siemens leader says “net zero” is a “fairytale”
The idea of ever reaching net zero as promoted by President Biden and other world leaders is being labeled “fairytale” thinking by the leader of Siemens Energy, the maker of wind turbines used throughout Oklahoma and across the world. Joe Kaeser is chairman of Siemens Energy and recently stated that energy bills will have to …
Frozen coal wasn’t a power problem for Kansas utility in recent frigid weather
Kansas legislators were recently informed that Evergy was able to maintain normal operating conditions for extreme weather despite frozen coal, because of high winds that powered the big utility’s wind farms. It was a reference to earlier January weather where high winds and frigid weather hit the region. The explanation was made before a …
Arkansas trucking firm to create solar farm for headquarters electricity
Arkansas-based J.B. Hunt Transport Services Inc. is moving ahead with plans to construct a solar array that could offset more than 80% of the electricity demand at its corporate headquarters in the city of Lowell. The 4.99-megawatt array was approved by the Arkansas Public Service Commission two years ago but the company is just …
Lithium race in Arkansas worries some leaders
Lithium extraction in the Smackover Formation of southern Arkansas has some people worried about what it might mean for small communities and the environment. While ExxonMobil announced last year to move forward with using the heavy amounts of brine in the formation to begin extraction of lithium by 2027, it created an excitement in …
Lowest gasoline prices in the U.S. are in Oklahoma
It’s January and gasoline prices should be lower than the heavy summer time travel season. Going into the weekend, Oklahoma AAA reported the national average was $3.08, just a penny higher than the previous week. Oklahoma’s average was $2.60, lowest in the nation, but also two cents more than a week earlier. The national …
Nation’s rig activity remained steady and Oklahoma’s count slipped
The nation’s rig count held steady in the past week with Baker Hughes reporting on Friday a growth of one rig to reach a total of 620. Oklahoma’s count slipped by one rig. The U.S. total included a loss of two oil drillling rigs to 497 while the number of gas rigs increased by …