*Participating in Fundraiser for State Schools Superintendent Candidate Janet Barresi

Excerpts From:
Daily Oklahoman
BY MEGAN ROLLAND Oklahoman    
Published: August 12, 2010

Florida's national test scores have consistently surpassed Oklahoma's student achievement, and former Governor Jeb Bush says it's due to a package of simple education reforms that the Sooner State could and should embrace.

"It was a suite of reforms that yielded slight student improvement each year, which yielded us above the national average over time," Bush said Wednesday morning at the Skirvin Hilton Hotel after a fundraiser for Janet Barresi.

Bush took office in 1998 when students were scoring below the national average on federal reading tests. When he departed eight years later, student scores were well above the national average.

Florida students have made huge gains on the gold standard of standardized tests, the National Assessment of Educational Progress. In fact, Florida's large Hispanic population, a group of students that historically performs poorly on standardized tests, are outscoring Oklahoma's student population.

Oklahoma students have remained stagnant on the exams, showing little improvement or regression over the past 10 years. Gains have been made in a few subjects and a few grade levels over the years, but by and large test scores have remained the same.

Bush's day in Oklahoma proceeded from there with a presentation to members of the Oklahoma House and Senate about Florida's comparative educational success.

He encouraged Oklahoma lawmakers to cut through bureaucracy.

"Oklahoma has languished," Bush said. "There's no reason why Oklahoma kids can't learn, other than the adults around them."

In Florida, Bush said they put an end to the graduation of third grade students who are below grade level, particularly in reading, holding those students back for remediation.

Florida also created a school rating system that easily informs parents, using grade letters "A" through "F" on school performance. The state then gave those parents options about where to send their children.

Bush said choice that breeds competition between public and private schools was integral to his state's success. With an active voucher system that allows low-income parents to use state funds for a private school education and 375 charter schools throughout the state, Bush said competition is strong in Florida.

Oklahoma has 18 charter schools and no voucher program, but the state does have an open transfer program that allows parents to move their children to any public school district that will accept them.

Bush said Oklahoma needs reform.

He said the Race to the Top — a federal grant competition that led to Oklahoma passing a package of education reforms — was a step in the right direction, but added, "We need to get way beyond that."

The brother and son of two former Republican presidents did give President Barack Obama's education reform plan a compliment, saying it was "one area of credit" he would give to the president for his sincere effort to improve education.

Excerpts from:
The Daily Oklahoman
Oklahoma elections: Attorney general race close
BY JULIE BISBEE
July 28, 2010

In the race for the Republican nomination for state Attorney General, early returns showed the two candidates in a close, heated battle.

 Leonard and Pruitt battled with dueling ads in the campaign for the Republican nomination in the days leading up to the primary election. Leonard questioned Pruitt's legal credentials, while Pruitt continued to highlight his conservative values. Both men are attorneys and are opposed to recent federal health care reform. Both said they would fight the federal government in an effort to protect state's rights.

Leonard outpaced Pruitt in fundraising by nearly a 3-to-1 margin. In the most recent state Ethics Commission filing, Leonard reported raising $917,484 to Pruitt's $390,342. For the past 16 years, Drew Edmondson has been attorney general. Edmondson did not seek re-election so he could run for the Democratic nomination for governor. The winner will face Democrat Jim Priest in November.

July 29, 2010
Excerpts From:
Dolan Media Newswires: by D. Ray Tuttle

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK -- The U.S. Senate Democrats’ proposed energy bill would raise federal taxes on Oklahoma crude oil more than 500 percent.

If the Senate bill, introduced late Tuesday, is approved, it would hike federal taxes from 8 cents a barrel to 49 cents a barrel. The Oklahoma tax on crude oil production is 7 percent of value.

Oklahoma is one of the nation’s largest natural gas-producing states, and any efforts to increase the use of the fuel in the U.S. will benefit the state’s economy and the nation’s drive toward energy independence, said Mike Terry, OIPA president. The OIPA is the state’s largest oil industry trade group, with more than 2,000 individual members and companies.

“However, significantly increasing taxes on the industry that produces the fuel will push smaller independent oil and natural gas producers out of business and reduce the number of drilling rigs exploring for natural gas in Oklahoma,” Terry said.

The Senate bill is an immediate threat to the industry, Terry said.

Somerlyn Cothran, executive director of the National Stripper Well Association, agreed.

“We are fighting every day,” Cothran said.

Higher taxes impact the stripper or marginal wells because marginal well operators have razor-thin profit margins, Cothran said. A marginal well produces no more than 10 barrels or 60,000 cubic feet of natural gas daily. Oklahoma wells produce an average of 2.3 barrels of oil per day, according to the state’s Marginal Well Commission.

There are 65,504 marginally producing oil and gas wells in Oklahoma, out of a total of 119,255 wells that are tracked by the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

“We are doing everything in our power to keep from having to pay these taxes, which would plug wells and cost jobs,” Cothran said.

“Pushing American energy producers out of U.S. waters will kill jobs,” Terry said. “Raising that tax could severely hamper the ability for independents to drill.”

The American Petroleum Institute estimates that 175,000 jobs in the Gulf Coast region are at risk if the bill passes. No estimate was available on the number of jobs in Oklahoma threatened by the federal tax hike.

Also of concern, Terry said, are provisions related to hydraulic fracturing. In the process of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a specially blended liquid called slick water is pumped down a well and into a formation under pressure high enough to break the rock and allow natural gas to flow to the well.

“Although requiring drilling companies to disclose the chemicals used in the fracking process seems harmless at first glance, this legislation will open the door to increased regulations on the process that has been proven safe and is a necessity in unlocking new natural gas fields,” Terry said. “Burdensome and costly regulations on the hydraulic fracturing process will slow American drilling rigs, cost Oklahomans jobs and delay our country’s push to energy independence.”

The bill creates tax credits to speed the development of natural gas vehicles. Specifically, it would provide incentives for turning the nation’s heavy truck fleet to natural gas and the electrification of the transportation sector.

The bill includes as its centerpiece “oil spill response” legislation that would require BP to pay for its spill damage, make oil companies invest in new spill cleanup and prevention technologies, improve federal spill response, reform the Minerals Management Service and update maritime laws.

The Senate bill also provides five years of funding for the Land & Water Conservation Fund, which is used to acquire federal lands. It also amends maritime statutes to allow families of the victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill to seek certain types of damages.

The bill also provides funding for the Home Star program, which encourages homeowners to install energy-efficient technology.

 
Excerpts from: The Tulsa World
by: BRIAN BARBER World Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 09, 2009

Tulsa voters decided in Tuesday's primary election that it will be Republican Dewey Bartlett Jr. versus Democrat Tom Adelson in the fall's general election to determine the next mayor.

The two will be on the Nov. 10 ballot with independent candidates Mark Perkins and Lawrence Kirkpatrick.

Bartlett, the Keener Oil & Gas president and former city councilor, by far had the tougher primary battle in a field of 11 GOP candidates. He prevailed, however, with a clear majority of 54 percent. His closest competitor, Chris Medlock, had 32 percent.

"It's a landslide, in my opinion, considering how many were in the race," Bartlett said during his watch party at The Brook restaurant, adding he received a "humble and gracious" concession call from Medlock.

Excerpts From
Reuters
Tue Mar 24, 2009 4:52pm EDT
By Joshua Schneyer - Analysis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A sharp drop in U.S. drilling spurred by lower oil prices, scarce funding and potential tax hikes may thwart the Obama administration's plans to end U.S. reliance on foreign oil.

U.S. oil output is poised to rise 8 percent this year to 5.4 million barrels per day -- the first increase since 1991 after a six-year rally in prices fed exploration and production projects -- according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

But the drilling spree has collapsed alongside a 65 percent slump in oil prices since last July, putting any increase in domestic output at risk and raising the specter of increased foreign dependence in years to come.

"Drillers are like farmers; we only increase activity when the future looks good," said Dewey Bartlett Jr., who chairs the National Stripper Well Association. "I'd expect a sharp decline in U.S.-produced oil and gas a year or two from now."

Since September, the number of U.S. rigs drilling for oil and natural gas has dropped almost 50 percent to 1,085 rigs, the quickest decline since 1986, according to data from oil services company Baker Hughes

LOSING THE WILL TO DRILL

The lull in U.S. drilling comes even as many producing wells remain profitable. Oil prices have averaged $42 a barrel this year and on Tuesday rose 0.3 percent to $53.98 - a far cry from the $10 a barrel that sent oil companies into a panic during 1999.

Rigs have also become cheaper and more abundant due to the slump, but the cost savings are little consolation to many drillers, since a credit crunch has made bank funding scarce.

Small wells, also known as stripper wells, produce 1.4 million barrels a day in the United States, but NSWA's Bartlett expects their output to decline at over 10 percent a year.

Investment bank JP Morgan expects oilfield declines to quicken by 3 to 4 percentage points in costly U.S. fields.

Obama's proposed budget also discourages drillers, since it could end tax breaks - including one that allows companies to write off about 25 percent of drilling costs - and impose excise fees on oil and gas.

OFFICIALS SAY LOW PRICES ARE UNDERCUTTING LOCAL PRODUCERS

BY RANDY ELLIS
Published: March 4, 2009

The Oklahoma attorney general’s office has opened a preliminary inquiry into concerns that oil from Canada possibly is being dumped on Oklahoma markets in potential violation of state and federal antitrust laws, Attorney General Drew Edmondson confirmed Tuesday.

"The situation is serious to begin with because it’s impacting (Oklahoma) oil production,” Edmondson said. "If it’s both serious and a violation of law, then we will definitely take steps.”
Edmondson said he became concerned about the situation last week after meeting with Oklahoma oilmen Harold Hamm, Mickey Thompson and Mike Cantrell.

Hamm is chairman and chief executive officer of Continental Resources Inc. of Enid, Thompson is former president of the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association, and Cantrell is an Ada independent oil and gas producer. Hamm and Cantrell also are both board members of the OIPA.
Edmondson said the three oilmen expressed concerns about oil coming into Oklahoma from Canada and "arriving at Cushing at a price they suggested was below actual and below market and, in essence, freezing out local producers from the Cushing supply area.”

"They raised the possibility that this was an unfair trade practice that may be a violation of both state and federal anti-trust laws,” Edmondson said.

What they discussed
Edmondson said he asked the men to suggest someone with expertise in petroleum pricing and markets to assist his anti-trust lawyers in determining whether an unfair trade practice exists.

"We’re awaiting that and will take it from there once we get that information and that contact,” Edmondson said.

Hamm and Thompson both told The Oklahoman they believe it costs about $60 a barrel to produce the Canadian oil that is being sold in Cushing on the New York Mercantile Exchange for about two-thirds that amount.
"The last I knew, it was illegal to bring materials in below the cost of production,” Hamm said. "It’s a ripe area for investigation.”
What’s the impact?

The effect on Oklahoma oil producers has been dramatic, Hamm said.
Traditionally, Oklahoma sweet crude oil has brought about $2 more a barrel at Cushing than similar Brent Crude oil that comes from overseas, he said.

"Now we’re at a severe discount ... recently as much as $10 a barrel ... (compared) to Brent,” Hamm said.

On top of that, the companies that buy oil from Oklahoma producers are paying as much as $6 a barrel less than the price being paid at Cushing. As a result, Oklahoma oil producers are getting as much as $16 a barrel less for their oil than world oil prices, Hamm said.
Since gross production taxes are based on those prices, it’s very costly to the state, he said.

The domestic oil and gas industry found plenty to dislike when the Obama administration announced its proposed federal budget. But it's possible that the segment which would be hurt quickest and hardest is its marginal, or "stripper," oil producers.

Their 420,000 low-volume wells each produce fewer than 15 bbl daily. Yet they collectively represent 20% of the total domestic oil and gas production, or 1.2 million b/d, roughly equal to daily US energy imports from Saudi Arabia, according to the National Stripper Well Association.

"It is critical that US stripper wells are exempt from this legislation. Without revision, these provisions would result in well abandonment and reduced oil and natural gas production, serving only to further harm America's fragile economy," said Dewey Bartlett Jr., president of Keener Oil Co. in Tulsa and the NSWA's chairman.
The owners and operators of these wells essentially are small business owners who are dramatically different from major oil companies, he noted.

An Illinois producer

Arlene P. Snyder, the president and chief executive of Parish Oil Production Inc. in Northbrook, Ill., is one of them. She recognizes that the country is in economic trouble, says that US President Barack H. Obama is working hard to clean up the mess, and thinks that everyone should help. She would also like to stay in business.
"We are not large, integrated international oil companies reporting huge profits earned last quarter. Our only source of income is at the wellhead after paying the monthly operating expenses to get that oil out of the ground and into a tank," she told me in a Feb. 27 e-mail message. Many stripper wells take three months to fill a stock tank before the oil can be sold to a refinery, she added.

Refiners set the price, Snyder continued, and after several years of mergers and acquisitions, there are only two who buy Illinois Basin stripper oil. "These refineries discount our sales price for our 40-degree sweet crude at $8.25/bbl below West Texas Intermediate pricing for sweet crude," she said.

More sour crude

Most US refineries have retooled their operations to process imported sour crude, which also increasingly flows into the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve, Snyder said. Sweet crude costs less to process, "but refineries need volume every day and use sour crude because sweet crude production levels have dropped since 1986," she said.

She said that her small business might be able to absorb a reduced tax incentive. "But we cannot sustain the complete loss of the depletion allowance and the ability to write off intangible drilling costs in the year they are incurred," she said.

"We are in a very high-risk business. Even reworking existing wells costs a lot of money with no assurance we can even get it back. We must have a way to offset these huge gambles because we are a small company with limited operating capital," Snyder said.

She hopes that Congress will recognize there are differences between her company and Exxon Mobil.

From:

The McCarville Report
June 2008 

Senator Brian Bingman, R-Sapulpa, has been named "Legislator of the Year" by the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association.                                               

He was cited for his sponsorship of Senate Bill 1475, which will create research program at colleges and universities focusing on oil and natural gas exploration and production.

From:

The Daily Oklahoman
June 2008 

Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Jeff Cloud announced Friday he will seek a second, six-year term.

Cloud, currently chairman of the commission, said he is proud of the commission's work during his first term, adding that he expects the next to be just as challenging.

Cloud said he felt he had brought a balanced approach to the commission by making sure the companies it regulates make fair and reasonable returns on their investments, while still protecting consumers and ratepayers by making sure they have safe, reliable and affordable services.

The commissioner said that approach encouraged investment in Oklahoma, including getting DSL services into rural Oklahoma, which helped its economy.
As for the future, Cloud said the commission needs to work to help utilities meet growing power needs for their customers by looking at alternative power sources, which includes nuclear energy, during a challenging time because of high energy prices.

The filing period for his race and other state offices in Oklahoma commences on Monday and concludes at 5 p.m. on Wednesday.

"I will work aggressively to seek this post that I am honored to serve in,” he said.

The 47-year-old has been chairman of the commission since June 2005.
He was born in Tulsa and raised in Oklahoma City.

He earned a degree in petroleum land management from the University of Oklahoma and a juris doctorate from the Oklahoma City University School of Law.

Cloud and his wife, Trish, live in Oklahoma City and have three children.

Excerpts From:

The Tulsa World
October 20, 2007
By RANDY KREHBIEL

"Former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani was the top Republican, at $329,345, but had the best third quarter of any candidate. Helped by fundraisers in Tulsa and Ada, Giuliani raked in $163,850 between July 1 and Sept. 30.

All added, Oklahomans have contributed nearly $2 million for various presidential campaigns with the 2008 general election still more than a year away. Tulsans have given the lion's share, $673,003, with nearly one-third of that coming from a single midtown ZIP code -- 74114, the area that includes Philbrook Museum of Art and Utica Square.

Giuliani's third-quarter donors included: Oklahoma State University Athletic Director Mike Holder and his wife, Robbie, $2,300 each; Gary Sparks, Jenks architect, $4,600; Peter Walter, Tulsa Realtor, $2,300; Dewey Bartlett Jr., former Tulsa city councilor and oilman, $1,000; Stanley Lybarger, BOK Financial president, $500; Jay Helm, Tulsa real estate developer, $2,300; and John Brock, Tulsa oilman, $2,300."
 

Excerpts From:

The Oklahoman
By Michael McNutt
and Nolan Clay
July 18, 2006

"Tulsa oilman Bob Sullivan again raised more than U.S. Rep. Ernest Istook in the race to be the Republican candidate for governor, their latest campaign reports show."
 
"Sullivan has collected $1,165,774 as of July 10. Istook of  Warr Acres has collected $977,491 in the same time."
 
"Sullivan has been campaigning longer than Istook and has strong support from donors in the oil and gas industry.  He raised almost twice as much as Istook between April 1 and July 10."

Excerpts From:

The Oklahoman
By Chris Casteel
April 19, 2006

"Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Denise Bode led the crowded field of 5th district congressional candidates in raising money in the first quarter of 2006."

"Bode reported raising about $305,000 from Jan. 1 through March 31, and she ended the quarter with $473,000 in the bank. "

Excerpts From:

Fox News
October 04, 2007

Rudy Giuliani raised $11 million for the presidential race this summer, outpacing fellow Republicans though Mitt Romney was right behind with $10 million and tapped his own fortune to pump additional millions into the battle.

Giuliani's campaign income for the July-September quarter left him with $16 million cash on hand, aides said Thursday. Of that, about $12 million is available for the primary contests. Romney had $9 million on hand for the battle for the Republican nomination.

Romney contributed $8.5 million to his own campaign, a total that nearly matched his personal contributions for the first six months of the year. Overall, Romney, a former venture capitalist and Massachusetts governor, has dipped into his personal wealth for nearly $17.5 million.

John McCain, fighting to get back in the fray with the Republican front-runners, raised $6 million in the past three months and has $3.6 million cash on hand, his campaign said.

Excerpts From:

The Tulsa World
September 18, 2007
By: Jason Womack

Dewey F. Bartlett Jr., president of the National Stripper Well Association and Tulsa-based Keener Oil & Gas Co., said marginal or "stripper" wells are a reliable source of oil that during peak price periods become more economically viable.

"We can always count on stripper wells to continue to produce a significant amount of energy for our country," he said.

Marginal wells make up the foundation of U.S. oil production, Bartlett said.

More than 400,000 marginal wells are scattered across the nation, pumping out about 900,000 barrels of oil per day -- more than 20 percent of domestic oil production.

The wells are typically owned by smaller companies or family operations that maintain the wells and reap the profits.

When the price of oil is strong, a marginal well may trigger additional drilling. Operators who have producing wells on large leases may drill additional wells into the same reservoir and make incremental increases in oil production.

"There is a lot of looking at these old wells in new ways," Bartlett said.

With prices high, operators are less likely to plug the small wells, often cutting off access to an oil reservoir forever, Bartlett said.

"The pricing of product determines if that well stays in existence," he said.

Excerpts from:
The Tulsa World
By TOM LINDLEY World Capitol Bureau
11/5/2008

OKLAHOMA CITY- Republicans Dana Murphy and Jeff Cloud took different paths to victory in claiming seats Tuesday on the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.

In what turned out to be an expensive and bitter race, Murphy defeated Jim Roth, D-Oklahoma City, with about 52 percent of the vote.

Cloud, of Oklahoma City, easily defeated former state Rep. Charles Gray, D-Oklahoma City, with 61 percent.

Cloud was seeking his second six-year term; Gray was making his second bid at election to the commission.

Cloud attributed his showing to his ability to do "what I said I would do and that is to achieve a balance at the commission where consumers are protected and businesses are allowed to make a fair rate of return."

Gray said the people had spoken.

"I can't argue with that. I didn't run a good enough campaign to unseat an incumbent," he said.

All three seats on the commission will now be held by Republicans.