“Be very careful with doing anything that might screw that up.” Warning from Lee Boothby, CEO of Newfield Exploration. Executives of four energy companies with extensive work in Oklahoma’s STACK and SCOOP plays made it clear this past week, yes the rewards of the big plays are nice but there are concerns too …
Williams to Appeal $16 million Judgment Over 2013 Chemical Plant Explosion in Louisiana
A jury in New Orleans awarded $16 million to four workers injured in the deadly 2013 petrochemical plant explosion at an operation run by Tulsa-based Williams Cos. It’s the second major award in the incident. In late September, a jury awarded four other workers $13.6 million for injuries they suffered at the Williams Olefins Geismar …
OIPA’s Mike Terry Announces Retirement
Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association (OIPA) President Mike Terry has announced he will retire, ending a decade-long tenure as the head of the state’s largest oil and natural gas advocacy group. Terry’s retirement will take effect Dec. 31, 2017. “It has been an honor to serve the industry I love and the people in it,” Terry …
Court Rules Against Gas Line Developer Wanting to Survey on Private Land
Constructing a pipeline is getting to be quite a challenge these days. While hundreds of Native Americans are protesting the building of the Dakota Access oil pipeline in North Dakota, landowners in West Virginia are fighting a natural gas pipeline developer. And they’ve won a West Virginia Supreme court ruling that the developer will not …
Cause Probed in Deadly Natural Gas Blast in Canton, Ohio
It was a worker for a gas company investigating a leak who was killed this week in a natural gas explosion in Canton, Ohio. The person worked for Ameren Illiniois. Eleven others were injured in the massive blast that happened just before 6 p.m. on Wednesday. “All of the sudden, I heard the biggest kaboom …
State’s Largest Earthquake at Pawnee Leads to Lawsuit Against Two Oil and Gas Firms
The Sept. 3 earthquake that measured 5.8 magnitude in Pawnee has led to the filing of a class-action lawsuit against at least two oil and gas companies, blaming them for the damages. The suit was filed Thursday in Pawnee County District court (CJ-2016-78) by James Adams and others against Eagle Road Oil LLC, Cummings Oil …
Drought Getting a Grasp of More Parts of Oklahoma
The latest U.S. Drought Monitor shows dry conditions in Oklahoma are getting dryer. “Paints a really nasty picture for SE U.S. through Oklahoma into the High Plains,” is how Gary McManus of the Oklahoma Mesonet put it in Thursday’s report. The Panhandle and southeastern Oklahoma are in areas described as where the “drought persists” while …
OSU Inks Contract for New Airplane Transportation System
A contract was scheduled to be signed Thursday in Stillwater paving the way for research and development that could lead to a working prototype of an automated system for handling landed aircraft. The contract is between the New Product Development Center at Oklahoma State University and Airplane Transporting Systems. The ATS is what the University …
Texas Official Agrees—-Wastewater Injection Wells Can Cause Earthquakes
A statement by Texas Railroad Commissioner Ryan Sitton that oil and gas wastewater injection wells are possibly causing earthquakes in Texas is getting some attention in the industry. “I take the issue of induced seismicity very seriously,” said Sitton in announcing his collaboration with the Bureau of Economic Geology Center for Integrated Seismicity Research. “The …
BNSF Considers Covers for Coal Cars as part of Settlement with Environmental Groups
Covers might be seen soon on BNSF Railway cars carrying coal in the northwestern part of the U.S. It’s part of a tentative agreement reached this week between the rail company that rolls through Oklahoma with environmental groups who alleged the coal spilled from the trains has polluted waterways in Washington state. BNSF has denied …