Author's posts
Environmentalists Fight Gold Mine Near Yellowstone
Environmental groups have gone to court in an attempt to block an industrial gold mine being developed north of Yellowstone National Park. The suit was filed in a challenge to the approval granted by the Montana Department of Environmental Quality to Lucky Minerals, a company in Canada. The Greater Yellowstone Coalition and Park County Environmental …
Swiss Agribusiness Wants Speedy Appeal in Corn Lawsuit Judgment
While it appeals a $218 million judgment in a lawsuit brought by Kansas farmers, Syngenta is urging a Kansas federal judge to certify the final judgment, a move that would allow the Swiss company to speed up its appeal of the case. It was in June when a federal jury awarded the $218 million to …
$2.4 billion Deal Announced by Phillips 66 Partners
In a deal worth $2.4 billion, Phillips 66 Partners LP is buying Phillips 66’s 25 percent interest in two North Dakota pipelines. The purchase includes interest in the Dakota Access LLC and Energy transfer Crude Oil Co. LLC and 100% interest in Merey Sweeny LP. It includes the Bakken Pipeline, a system more than 1,900 …
Rebalancing of Oil Prices is at Hand
For the first time in four months, U.S. oil prices rose about the $51 mark on Monday and analysts say it’s a time the oil market is finally rebalancing. The rebalancing is largely due to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries cutting production. Since the start of 2017, Russia and other producers have reduced …
Polling Group Challenges Oil and Gas Tax Hike
The recently-announced poll by the Oklahoma Energy Producers Alliance claiming 67% of Oklahoma voters supported an increase in tax on oil and gas production is challenged by the group that did the poll. WPA Intelligence responded by stating that another poll found that “voters have a strongly favorable image of the oil and natural gas …
Oil and Gas Group Fights Proposed Tax Hike in Special Legislative Session
While state legislators grapple with a plan to fix Oklahoma’s state government budget hole of $215 million, some want to increase the gross production tax on oil and gas. And that’s an issue that prompts Chad Warmington, President of the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association to declare it’s nothing but political talking points on the …
Widow Settles Federal Lawsuit Over Oilfield Workers Death in Oklahoma
The wrongful death lawsuit against XTO and Exxon Mobil in Oklahoma City federal court was settled on Thursday. But terms of the agreement in the suit brought by the widow of an oilfield worker who died while tank gauging near Ardmore in 2014 were not disclosed. “The parties have reached a confidential settlement without XTO …
Hamm Slams EIA for “Exaggerated’ Oil Production Prediction
Oklahoma oil billionaire Harold Hamm isn’t afraid to say it…he thinks the government’s optimistic predictions of more than 1 million new barrels of oil a day in the U.S. production is “distorting” global crude prices. It’s what he told Bloomberg News, saying the prediction this week by the U.S. Energy Information Administration is “just flat …
Kansas Regulators Allow Utilities to Set Rates for Self-Produced Energy in Homes
Kansans who rely on self-generated electricity from wind and solar energy aren’t happy over a Kansas Corporation Commission ruling this week. The KCC issued an order detailing how utility companies can charge customers for what is known in the industry as “distributed generation,” meaning those customers who self-produce energy in small amounts according to a …
Victim’s Family Wins Appeals in Negligence Suit
A Texas appeals court has reversed a lower court ruling that said National Oilwell Varco and an independent trucking company were not responsible for a fatal car crash that occurred when the vehicle slid on oil mud covering a highway. Varco had employed Big Red trucking to haul mud from a drill site near Flatonia, …