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Tulsa Businessman’s $1 million Re-creation of Waite Phillips Office
Tulsa chemical company owner Mat Brainerd’s had such an interest and devotion of the history of Oklahoma oilman Waite Phillips, he spent $1 million renovating his office to look just like the one Phillips had in Philtower in downtown Tulsa. As he told The Tulsa World, “Re-creating his office into an exact replica of what …
Oklahoma’s Oil and Gas Employment Dropped in May
While Oklahoma’s latest unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.3 percent in May, new figures from the state indicated a growth in jobs in Oklahoma’s energy sector for the year but not the month. The jobless rate has remained at 4.3 percent since March as the state’s labor force dwindled in the same time period. The …
Expanded Oil and Gas Drilling Permits for Noble County
Two oil and gas exploration companies intend to keep busy in the state if the latest permit report is any indication. Newfield Exploration based in Houston filed for five permits in Kingfisher County, showing the firm’s interest in the STACK is not easing whatsoever. DonRay Petroleum LLC based in Oklahoma City filed and obtained 8 …
Congressmen Assure Pruitt his EPA Won’t Suffer Dramatic Budget Cuts
EPA Chief Scott Pruitt says there’s one way to make sure Superfund cleanups continue even with a 31 percent cut in funding for his agency’s budget. His idea? Make the polluters pay. It’s what he said in a recent TV interview. “The great thing there is that there’s private funding. There are people out there …
Inhofe Makes One Last Defense of Trump’s Paris Climate Accord Decision
In what he called one last defense of President Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris Climate Accord, Sen. Jim Inhofe said it means an end to the era of President Obama’s damaging climate agenda. It was in his latest speech on the Senate Floor where he highlighted what he called the “importance of …
Apex Energy “Folds” in Wind Energy Fight But Not in Oklahoma
Maybe it’s a matter of knowing when to hold ’em and when to fold ’em in one wind energy battle. With at least 9 projects in operation or still under construction in Oklahoma, Apex Clean Energy Inc. based in Charlottesville, Virginia has suspended construction of a $100 million wind farm in east-central Tennessee. The company …
Fracking Fight in Wyoming Leads to Federal Court Ruling
In a case Sen. Jim Inhofe described as an attempt by the Obama administration to “crucify” the fossil fuel industry, a federal judge has ordered a high-ranking Wyoming state official to be deposed in a fracking case. It’s the case of a Wyoming family, Jeff and Rhonda Locker, that contends fracking by Encana Corporation operations …
Judge Dismisses $2.4 million Fine Against Tesoro
A $2.4 million fine against San Antonio-based Tesoro Corp. over the deaths of 7 workers in a 2010 explosion has been dismissed by a judge in Washington state. The fine was issued by Washington’s Department of Labor and Industries following the explosion at Tesoro’s refinery in Anacortes, Washington. But the Industrial Appeals Judge, in a …
Federal Court Gives Legal Ruling for Tribes Fighting Dakota Access Pipeline
Tribal leaders say they intend to ask federal courts to immediately shut down operations of the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota following a Wednesday night court ruling in their favor. The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ordered regulators to carry out more review of the project’s potential impacts. The pipeline, owned …
Inhofe Says Pruitt’s Doing Right Thing in Delaying Methane Emissions Rule
EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s decision to delay compliance dates for the EPA’s oil and gas industry methane emissions standards is supported by Sen. Jim Inhofe. “Our oil and gas industry was already voluntarily educing its methane emissions, which went down 40 percent between 2006 and 2012 without any federal intervention,” said the Senator. “I applaud …