Archive for the 'Energy' Category

By ROD WALTON 5/20/2009

Alternative energy is everything.

If any consensus was reached Tuesday during the OSU Energy Conference, it’s that all fuel sources have their place in the American future. That includes standbys like oil, coal and natural gas along with newer technologies involving wind, biofuels and geothermal pumps.

“There’s no question that the opportunities are unlimited,” said former Alaska Gov. Tony Knowles, executive director of the Tulsa-based National Energy Policy Institute.

Hundreds of industry professionals came to the Renaissance Tulsa Hotel and Convention Center to hear experts extol the virtues of almost every conceivable kind of fuel, whether it comes out of the ground, through the air, by splitting an atom or crushing a seed. And, except for two protestors outside dressed in animal costumes and waving signs about fossil fuels killing the planet, those inside the complex were careful to respect every source.

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May 19, 2009 (Claremore Daily Progress - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) — County commissioners heard presentations on solar energy and cable safety, and asked Assistant District Attorney Barry Farbro to explore legal options for indigent burial at Monday’s board meeting.

John Miggins of Standard Renewable Energy talked to commissioners about the possibility of supplementing county power needs with solar energy. Miggins said the courthouse roof is a good site for installing solar panels. He said there is also a possibility of installing panels at the jail.

“You buy a lot of power,” said Miggins. He said the county gets a “good deal” on power purchased through Claremore Electric. The city has a 25-year contract with GRDA to supply Claremore Electric’s power.

Solar power would supplement, not replace, electric purchased through the city. The investment comes up front in the purchase of the equipment, then the power generated is free.

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WASHINGTON, DC, Apr. 29 — Democratic leaders of the US House Energy and Commerce Committee agreed to hold another hearing on climate change legislation on May 1, but said their record in working with the minority is better than their Republican predecessors.

“Our extensive hearings and the many accommodations we have provided to the minority far surpass the process you provided Democrats when you and your Republican predecessors controlled the committee,” Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.) and Energy and Environment Subcommittee Chairman Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) said on Apr. 27.

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration will decide later this year whether to raise the royalty rates energy companies would pay on the oil and natural gas produced on federal leases, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday.Companies now pay a royalty rate ranging from 12.5 percent to 18.75 percent of the value of the oil and gas they drill. However, Salazar said other countries charge higher royalties and the Obama administration wants to make sure U.S. taxpayers are treated fairly.

“We are looking at royalty rates and compensation paid for both onshore and offshore oil and gas development,” Salazar told Reuters in a wide-ranging interview. “We will make sure the American citizen is getting its fair return.”

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(CNN) — When Rita Bryer sees 300-foot-tall wind turbines sprouting up from the prairie near her home in western Oklahoma, she can’t help but wonder about the view from the top, where blades the size of semi-trucks spin.

“Out here, you can see the wind turbines from 10 miles away,” she said. “Think about how far you’ll be able to see when you’re at the top.”

So, partly out of curiosity, partly because she wants to be part of something new, the 51-year-old is leaving behind a career of odd jobs and oil-field work.

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Pacific Energy & Mining Company (PINKSHEETS: PEMC) announces the withdrawal of the acquisition of a 50% operating interest in 16 natural gas wells in the State of New Mexico. After review of the well conditions and further “Due Diligence,” the Company chose to reverse its planned acquisition of the property.

The Company holds interest in the Brennan Bottoms oil field. Brennan Bottoms is composed of approximately 1,700 acres of Federal leases. In Cisco, Utah the Company holds a direct interest in Cisco Springs oil and gas field (11 wells) and in Cisco Township oil and gas field (10 wells).

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by Mickey Hepner The Edmond Sun

EDMOND — With names like Phillips Petroleum, Continental Oil and Kerr-McGee, it is clear that energy has played a storied role in Oklahoma’s past. With names like Williams Companies, Devon and Chesapeake it is clear that energy remains important to Oklahoma today. But just how important is it?

This week, the University of Central Oklahoma Policy Institute (www.uco.edu/ucopi), a nonpartisan public policy think tank housed at the UCO released a new report (full disclosure: I authored the report) that quantifies the economic impact of this industry. The report notes that the true impact of the oil and natural gas industry extends far beyond the industry itself. In fact every industry in Oklahoma benefits from the presence of the oil and natural gas industry here.

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BY RANDY ELLIS

From algae to oil, Oklahoma is blessed with abundant and diverse resources and research concerning energy.

Making intelligent decisions about how to develop and use those resources is vitally important to the future economic prosperity of Oklahoma and the nation as this country goes through an energy transition, speakers said Wednesday at an energy summit in Midwest City.

As pressure to wean this country from foreign oil has mounted, a lot of national attention has turned to wind as a renewable, nonpolluting alternative.

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By Jim Tankersley

WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said on Tuesday that he is reconsidering a series of controversial energy and environmental decisions handed down in the waning days of the Bush administration.

“I’m very concerned about a number of the midnight actions that were taken by the Bush administration,” Salazar said in his first formal news interview since winning Senate confirmation last week.

Salazar said the list of the late-inning decisions to be reviewed include starting the process for resumption of oil exploration in coastal areas, the move to open federal land near national parks for oil and natural gas drilling, opening parts of the Mountain West for oil shale development and several rulings on the Endangered Species Act.

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January 27, 2009

Energy Transfer Partners, a publicly traded partnership that owns and operates energy assets, has signed an agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corp. to build a 178-mile natural gas pipeline near Carthage, Texas, which will extend through the Haynesville Shale, ending up near Delhi, La.

Chesapeake’s subsidiary Chesapeake Energy Marketing Inc. entered the deal with Dallas-based Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP).

Construction of the pipeline is expected to cost somewhere in the $1 billion to $1.2 billion-range, with service to begin in 2011. The pipeline, which will be called the Tiger Pipeline, will allow the energy company to connect seven interstate pipelines at strategic points within Louisiana, Energy Transfer Partners said in a press statement.

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