Published: June 30, 2009 10:06 pm      

7-1 State news in brief

Speaker, AT&T announce CNG vehicles

TULSA (AP) — AT&T is rolling out a fleet of at least 30 compressed natural gas vehicles this year in part because of tax incentives approved by the Oklahoma Legislature.

The announcement was made Tuesday by Oklahoma House Speaker Chris Benge of Tulsa and Bryan Gonterman, president of AT&T Oklahoma.

Gonterman said the incentives, the high number of existing CNG fueling stations in the state and AT&T’s goal of more fuel efficiency prompted the company to make a serious CNG commitment in the state.

Benge said using compressed natural gas as a transportation fuel makes sense from an economic perspective and will make the nation more energy independent.

Gonterman said the 30 CNG-powered vans represent nearly 10 percent of AT&T’s van fleet in Oklahoma.



Oklahoma royalty owners oppose longer wells

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma royalty owners said Tuesday they oppose a plan to let producers drill longer horizontal oil and natural gas wells, suggesting it would further complicate royalty payments and make it easier for producers to drain minerals from adjacent lands.

“How do you know you don’t have a nozzle under my place? There’s no way for me to know,” Marceline Piper of the Woods County Mineral Owners Association told producers during a crowded public forum on the so-called unitization plan before the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the state agency that regulates utilities. “Our oil or gas is ours, not our neighbor’s.”

At least 200 people packed into the commission’s courtroom and an adjacent hallway as producers and mineral owners discussed possible changes in commission guidelines that would address new technology allowing producers to drill horizontal wells up to two miles long. Producers must pay royalties to landowners with mineral rights in order to use the minerals.

Jim Addison of Houston-based Newfield Exploration Co. said authorizing horizontal oil and natural gas wells with longer lateral lengths would make the wells more efficient and economical.

Current regulatory restrictions require producers to drill only within 640-acre units, limiting the lateral lengths of horizontal wells, Addison said. Some of the acreage within the unit is not developed and oil or natural gas reserves are not tapped.

Newfield is the leading producer in the Woodford Shale natural gas project in Oklahoma’s Arkoma Basin, where it has invested $1.6 billion since 2006 and will invest $500 million more this year, Addison said. He said there are 22 horizontal wells in the Woodford Shale, 10 of which belong to Newfield.

Currently, Newfield’s longest horizontal well in the Woodford Shale is 6,700 feet. The unitization plan would double the size of drilling units to 1,280 acres and allow for wells up to 10,000 long.

“It’s good for the operator. It’s good for the mineral owners,” Addison said.



Aid approved for wildfire victims

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — State officials say more than $941,000 in state and federal assistance has been approved for residents affected by destructive wildfires.

President Barack Obama issued a disaster declaration for Carter, Cleveland, Grady, Lincoln, McClain, Murray, Oklahoma, Payne and Stephens counties, where wildfires destroyed 170 homes April 9-12.

The Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management says the FEMA Individual Assistance program covers basic needs for eligible applicants, including emergency home repair and temporary disaster housing.

According to the state agency, 140 individuals have registered for individual assistance; $879,000 in housing assistance grants have been approved and $62,000 has been approved for other needs.

Disaster Recovery Centers have been opened in Midwest City, Ratliff City, Blanchard and Wellston.