Oklahoma Energy Earnings Reports Paint a Troubling Picture

Oklahoma appears to be in even more budgetary trouble than previously thought, reports KOCO. Last Thursday it was announced that the state’s budget deficit had ballooned to more than $1.3 billion. The new budget deficit is 13 percent larger than December’s estimate of about $900 million. In the face of the massive budget hole, Senate GOP leaders proposed suspending millions of dollars' worth of tax subsidies.

The Sierra Club has filed a federal lawsuit against three Oklahoma energy companies, reports StateImpact Oklahoma. The lawsuit accuses the companies of operating wastewater injection wells that contributed to the massive spike in earthquakes in the state. The three oil companies facing the accusations are Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy and New Dominion.

Since the birth of Texas cattle rustlers have been a scourge in the state. But now, reports KUT, the slumping oil market has given rise to a new kind of criminal in South Texas: oil rustlers. Thieves have been sneaking into well sites and stealing the crude oil, and it’s becoming a big problem.

As the price of oil continues to drop, Politico asked a number of experts what the hidden consequences of the crash would be. Their answers varied.

John McLaughlin of Johns Hopkins University said every indication is that prices will not go up markedly. They may even drop further.

Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group says Middle East political structures are brittle and based on oil wealth. He asked, what keeps these countries together when the oil money runs out?

Oil has become incredibly plentiful and cheap recently. So cheap, in fact, that at least one company has suggested that buyers should be paid to take a certain type of low-quality crude. The company is owned by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.

Driving an oilfield truck in Oklahoma can be deadly, reports member station KGOU. In the past eight years, 36 people in the state have died in crashes involving trucks hauling oilfield wastewater and equipment. According to recent data, seven percent of all truck companies licensed for oil-field work in Oklahoma have been involved in fatal accidents.

Have you ever wondered how much energy your state produces, consumes, and expends?  The U.S. Energy Information Administration has created a series of state level maps detailing these facts. 

Here are some quick facts:

COLORADO

The website wallethub.com has published a list of America’s most and least energy efficient states. The site measured the efficiency of car- and home-energy consumption in the continental US. Researchers took into account both home and car efficiency.