Archive for the 'Oklahoma' Category

After following oil higher, prices for natural gas slide–and take an industry along for the ride.

HOUSTON — As crude oil grabs headlines for trading above $60 a barrel, little brother natural gas seemed to be following. Since the end of April, gas climbed out of its $3.15-per-thousand-cubic-feet ditch to a recent $4.42.

But two bullies in the market–weak demand and unrelenting supply–suffocated a 40% gain this week. Thursday, the Energy Information Administration reported that natural gas inventories continue to climb faster than expected. Supply in storage is a third higher than it was this time last year, 22% above the five-year average. Small exploration and production companies have fallen by the wayside, seeking bankruptcy protection, while others teeter on stock prices measured in nickels and dimes. Gas traded Friday at $3.54, back in the trough where analysts say it belongs.

“Three words: Too. Much. Gas,” says energy analyst David Pursell, of Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.

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5/27/2009

Oil prices hit a new high for the year and gasoline jumped a dime a gallon locally Tuesday as the stock market responded to a rise in consumer confidence.

Benchmark crude for July delivery gained 78 cents to settle at $62.45 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest close since oil hit $62.98 on Nov. 14, according to Bloomberg data.

Meanwhile, many retailers in Tulsa raised the cost of a gallon of regular unleaded from $2.15 to $2.25, the most expensive local price since fuel hit $2.29 on Oct. 25.

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Declaring “The Panhandle’s time is now,” the chairman of OGE Energy Corp. told shareholders Thursday he expects wind and solar energy to play a growing role in the electric utility’s future.

The Oklahoma Panhandle has wind and it has great sun resources, which puts it in position to take advantage of the political push to convert a growing percentage of the nation’s power supply to renewable energy sources, said Pete Delaney, chairman, president and chief executive of OGE Energy Corp.

Speaking at an annual shareholders meeting, Delaney was peppered with questions from shareholders interested in knowing more about the company’s plans to use wind and solar energy.

Delaney told investors OGE Energy Corp. only gets about 2 or 3 percent of its power from wind energy, but he expects that to increase to 15 to 20 percent in the next 10 or 15 years.

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May 26, 2009

HOUSTON (AP) — The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the United States fell by 18 this week to 900, down more than half from a year ago.

Of the rigs running nationwide, 711 were exploring for natural gas and 180 for oil, Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc. reported Friday. Nine were listed as miscellaneous.

A year ago, the rig count stood at 1,889. The U.S. count is down 56 percent since the end of August as weak energy demand has hampered oilfield activity.

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Pamela A. Grady
5.26.2009

Clean Energy Fuels Corp. and the city of Oklahoma City dedicated a new compressed natural gas fueling station at Will Rogers World Airport.

Designed, built and operated by Clean Energy, the large-scale, public access station will provide clean, green, domestic CNG to the expanding Airport Express fleet of shared-ride CNG shuttles. The facility, located at 4424 Amelia Earhart Drive, will be available 24/7 to serve CNG-powered vehicle fleets that operate in the area.

The Department of Airports awarded a 10-year contract to Clean Energy to develop and supply the new station.

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Heidi Rambo Centrella
5.26.2009

For three consecutive months, Oklahoma City saw a drop in sales tax receipts over the same months last year – a first for Forbes’ “recession-proof” city. Mayor Mick Cornett says he is disappointed and unsure how the city will plan its 2010 budget with these numbers.

“This is the time of year when your budget forecasters need to have some degree of certainty about the amount of revenue that’s going to be coming into the city so that we can properly budget the hundreds of millions of dollars, literally, that we expect to be coming into this city,” Cornett says. “I’m concerned about it.”

Budget Director Craig Freeman introduced a proposed 2009-2010 fiscal year budget at the May 5 City Council meeting. Council is scheduled to vote on the budget at its June 16 meeting. The budget will become effective July 1.

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By ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
Published: 5/26/2009

Well-thumbed, yellowed pieces of Oklahoma’s oil and gas drilling past can play a huge part in pumping up the industry’s high-tech future.

Well logs, handwritten by geologists as the drill bit churned nearly a century ago, are valuable tools that need to be preserved, officials say.

An Energy Libraries Online campaign hopes to raise enough money so that all of these paper records from early 20th-century well sites can be scanned and available via computer.

Newer wells already have a wealth of digital information, but many producers believe the old holes still trap plenty of oil.

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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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By ROD WALTON World Staff Writer
5/7/2009

Many oil and gas producers fear they may get only pennies on the dollar, if that, for the $400 million and more owed them by bankrupt SemGroup LP. But one of its attorneys remains optimistic about total payback.

“That’s the ballgame,” Tulsa attorney Gary McDonald said Wednesday during the Mid-Con Expo Energy Conference at the Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

“One hundred percent recovery: That’s what the statutes intended,” he added. “I think the prospects for full recovery are very good.”

SemCrude and Eaglwing, two SemGroup subsidiaries caught up in the Tulsa energy company’s July 22, 2008, bankruptcy, owe hundreds of producers for oil and gas bought in the 50 days before the Chapter 11 filing. The producers group also includes thousands more people as operators, working interests and royalty owners, according to reports.

A key battle in Delaware federal bankruptcy court pits the producers against a mammoth group of secured lenders led by Bank of America. Those creditors backed a $2.5 billion credit line and hold secured claims on SemGroup’s assets, according to reports.

Oil and gas producers, McDonald pointed out, also are a large group but tethered to a variety of state laws governing those liens for product sold prior to bankruptcy.

Most of the oil and gas was sold to SemCrude and Eaglwing from Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and New Mexico. 

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