Oil and gas finds unexpected treasure
It’s also found a shipwreck 35 miles off the coast of Louisiana in 4,000 feet of water that federal, state and industry officials preserved by working together.
Now, the U.S. Minerals Management Service is promoting a published report it put together with the help of Texas A&M’s Department of Oceanography and Nautical Archeology Program.
They recovered and documented artifacts from the shipwreck in 2007, and a 335 report about their work went online today.
Officials say the wreck, which likely happened between 1808 and 1820, was discovered as a result of a permitting process required by federal agency for laying pipelines.
“When it became apparent that the shipwreck could be jeopardized by the construction of a deepwater pipeline, MMS worked with industry, the State of Louisiana, and the President’s Advisory Council on Historic Preservation in Washington, D.C., to preserve this historic site,” said Randall Luthi, director of the Minerals Management Service.
Although the ship has yet to be identified, archaeologists refer to it as the Mardi Gras Shipwreck after the name of the pipeline near which it was found.
A specially equipped, remotely operated vehicle was used to recover more than 500 artifacts from the area.
Officials say they will displayed in Louisiana after they are restored at Texas A&M’s Conservation Research Laboratory.
The artifacts include glass bottles and tableware from
“We believe this shipwreck tells an important story about the role of the Gulf of Mexico during this period,” said archaeologist Jack Irion, who works for the Minerals Management Service. “New Orleans was a crucial part of the global clash between European empires. This was a critical period, not only for
To see the report, go here.
Reserves grew in 2007, Energy Information Administration says
Domestic oil and natural gas reserves are growing in the U.S., the federal government says.
Earlier this month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration said the nation’s domestic oil and gas exploration companies increased its proved reserves of crude oil by 2 percent in 2007, meaning it added more than enough reserves to cover
For natural gas, companies added more than twice as much in proved reserves as it produced in 2007 and ended the year with a highest total proved reserves since at least 1977, when the agency first started estimating proved reserves.
Proved reserves, federal officials say, are the estimated quantities of oil and natural gas that geological and engineering data demonstrate with reasonable certainty to be recoverable in future years from known reservoirs under existing economic and operating conditions.
Officials say the 2007 increase in natural gas reserves was historic. It was the ninth consecutive year in which reserves grew, but the growth was more than twice as much as in any other year since the agency began estimating those reserves, and mostly reflect the rapid development of unconventional natural gas resources made up of coalbed methane and resources like shale and tight, low permeability, formations that use advanced technologies like horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing.
Still lowest, when it comes to gas
On Monday, the state’s average was about $2.48 a gallon. Kansas was the next-lowest, with an average statewide price of about $2.54 a gallon.
In Oklahoma City, low prices ranged from $2.21 a gallon at
Worshipping the sun
3TIER, one of the world’s largest independent providers of assessment and forecasting of renewable energy, has released what it calls the first comprehensive, contiguous and high-resolution solar map for the entire Western Hemisphere.
To produce this map, 3TIER says it developed a dataset about three times the resolution of existing industry solar data standards for the U.S.
Kenneth Westrick, 3TIER CEO and founder of the Seattle-based company, says the product is unique because it allows policy-makers, developers and financiers to quickly identify their solar renewable energy potentials.
“This is the first and only database of the solar resource that covers all of North, Central and South America,” Westrick said. “Not many organizations have the expertise and super-computing resources to synthesize such massive amounts of historical satellite data or a tool like 3TIER’s FirstLook to present the data in a simple and elegant way.”
So, take a look to see whether you live in a sunny spot.
A clickable solar map is available online for free through the FirstLook Prospecting™ tool at http://firstlook.3tiergroup.com/solar.
Jack Money, Business Writer
‘Here to answer all your questions’
That’s not language you usually see in an energy company’s materials put together for an investor meeting.
But it is in Chesapeake’s, as it prepares to host those folks at its Oklahoma City headquarters today and tomorrow.
“We are here to answer all of your questions about anything you have heard or imagined about CHK in the past few days and weeks,” a page close to the top of today’s presentation package states.
The schedule today includes an overview for investors about the company’s operational and financial strategies for the future and tours of its Reservoir Technology Center and its 3-D Visualization Room.
Tomorrow, investors will get detailed presentations on Chesapeake’s activities in each of the fields where the company is active.
To see the materials prepared for the investors, go here.
By Jack Money, Business Writer
More than a dozen states’ gas prices below $3
Well, if my eyes don’t deceive me this morning, there are more states joining Oklahoma with average gas prices of less than $3 a gallon today.
Kansas, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota and Ohio all have average gas prices of less than $2.90 a gallon. Arkansas, Texas, Nebraska, New Jersey, Indiana, Delaware and Mississippi all have agerage gas prices of more than $2.90, but less than $3 a gallon.
In Oklahoma, the average today for a gallon of unleaded gas is about $2.70 a gallon. That’s down about 30 cents a gallon in a week, and it also remains the lowest statewide average gas price in the nation.
By Jack Money, Business Writer
More on the Murphy-Roth race
Here is another question The Oklahoman asked of Jim Roth and Dana Murphy, who are seeking to serve out the remainder of former Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode’s term at the agency.
Q. What do you do the day after the election if you find yourself on the losing side?
“I am absolutely committed that we are going to win Nov. 4. I really not have allowed myself to think what could happen if we are not successful. I believe the work we are doing is so important, I can’t even fathom the idea we would lose,” Roth said.
“I am incredibly grateful to Oklahomans for giving me the opportunity to run for the office. I respect our voters, and it is up to them to decide,” Murphy said. “If I lose, then I will catch my breath, and figure out other ways to contribute toward making Oklahoma a better place to live and work; what I can do every day to make things better.”
Part of Murphy and Roth’s debate is online at NewsOk.com. But all of the debate is online if you go here.
Also, the two candidates will debate again later this week. Oklahoma City University School of Law will host a candidates’ forum between the two 5 p.m. Thursday in the Homsey Family Moot Courtroom at the Sarkeys Law Center.
AAA Oklahoma celebrates Oklahoma’s low gasoline prices
Oh what a difference of just three weeks makes.
AAA Oklahoma celebrated the fact that gasoline prices across
- Significant strengthening of the U.S. dollar as
Europe’s banking sector deals with its own lending crisis. - Continued low demand in the
U.S. compared to a year ago. - World economies and financial markets that are all suffering, lowering worldwide demand.
- Improving gasoline inventories in the
U.S. in the wake of hurricanes Gustav and Ike. - The lack of any bad news here or abroad that might be perceived as a threat to oil or gasoline production or distribution.
“Oklahoma’s pump prices are the envy of the nation today,” said Mai. “The statewide average for regular self-serve is $3.047, which is not only the lowest of all the fifty states, it’s also almost a nickel below the price of the state with the second-lowest average, Kansas, currently at $3.095 per gallon.”
“As long as crude oil stays below $90 per barrel, I would expect gasoline prices to continue to fall.” said Mai. “Unless something happens to threaten supply, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the national average drop another 30 to 40 cents by Thanksgiving.”
Gas prices still headed lower
Oklahomans are continuing to enjoy some of the lowest gasoline prices in the nation, AAA.COM shows.
The statewide average for a gallon of gas today is $3.121, compared to a national average of 3.504.
Experts say prices in Oklahoma and the nation continue to fall because of falling demand. They attribute the demand drop to deepening concerns the country is in a recession. The U.S. consumes about a quarter of the oil used daily within the world, they add.
By Jack Money, Business Writer
Lowest is good, when it comes to gas
When it comes to being lowest, I’ll take it when we have the lowest gas prices in the nation.
That’s where we’ve been since the middle of last week, when
And we’ve been there ever since.
On Sept. 15, based primarily on hurricane fall-out, the nation’s average gas prices jumped nearly 20 cents a gallon, edging back toward that dreaded $4 a gallon mark.
In the three weeks since, though, it’s dropped 30 cents a gallon.
Here in the
As for where it goes for here, well, I’m not a betting man.
But for now, I’ll believe in the experts, who tell me that as long as demand keeps falling, so will the price.
So, we will see what happens.
If the market stays cyclical, we can expect prices to continue to fall until about February, when they’ll start yet another annual climb as refineries begin to shift their production from winter to summer blends.
In the meantime, though, enjoy!
Jack Money, Business Writer
