In a shockingly bad public relations decision, the Western Area Water Supply has published an official public support position of the Water (Royalty) Tax in House Bill 1020. WAWS Goes Political Here is what WAWS is now saying about the provisions in HB 1020 to tax private frack water sales: A water royalty clause was also introduced in HB1020. As ...

Ten OPEC countries achieved 91 percent of their required cuts in January, according to an S & P Global Platts survey released on Monday. In the agreement signed last year, OPEC countries promised to cut 1.2 million b/d for six months and freeze production at 32.5 million b/d for six months in 2017. This includes production by Indonesia, whose OPEC membership is ...

Oil companies are hiring in the Bakken, and more jobs are expected to open up next year, according to the Bismarck Tribune today. Job Service North Dakota announced six oil companies are looking for workers to man fracking crews in the new year, said Cindy Sanford, customer service office manager of Job Service’s Williston branch. She said she couldn’t reveal ...

The election of Donald Trump has thrilled many people across the West’s oil and gas industry who say his promises to roll back regulations will free it from unfair and unnecessary obstacles imposed by President Obama, including drilling in the Western part of the United States. As California “If the Trump administration does nothing but stop being hostile to us, we’ll ...

LONDON (AP) — The British government has approved fracking at a site in northern England despite opposition from the local county council. The landmark decision by Communities Secretary Sajid Javid Thursday means the shale company Cuadrilla will be able to proceed with plans to develop a site in Fylde, 230 miles (370 kilometers) northwest of London. The government stopped short ...

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Helis Oil & Gas Co. has abandoned its plans to drill in St. Tammany Parish. Following a lengthy review of the geologic, engineering and other data from its exploratory well in rural St. Tammany Parish, Helis has concluded that it will not proceed with further operations at the site northeast of Mandeville, the company said in ...

LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan judge has dismissed a challenge to restrictions on how long ballot drive organizers have to collect voter signatures. The Committee to Ban Fracking wants to use more than 200,000 already-gathered signatures to help qualify for the 2018 statewide ballot. It sued to challenge the constitutionality of Michigan’s 180-day time period for signature collecting. Court ...

Today, in a dramatic announcement, Fracking launched an independent bid for the presidency. The announcement was made in a 60 second ad on social media.  Americans across the country viewed the video on mobile devices and computers – all made possible by the candidate’s work. Fracking – who was born near Hugoton, Kan., in 1947 – has been praised by ...

CHICAGO (AP) — Fracking may worsen asthma in children and adults who live near sites where the oil and gas drilling method is used, according to an 8-year study in Pennsylvania. The study found that asthma treatments were as much as four times more common in patients living closer to areas with more or bigger active wells than those living ...

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The Latest on an environmental group’s contention that hydraulic fracturing under Alaska’s Cook Inlet will harm endangered beluga whales: 9:28 a.m. The chief executive officer of a Texas company that plans to drill below Alaska’s Cook Inlet says there’s no threat to endangered beluga whales from proposed hydraulic fracturing. Benjamin Johnson of Fort Worth-based BlueCrest Energy ...