oil

The Trump administration is giving energy companies temporary breaks on royalties and rent they pay to extract oil and gas from leases on public lands because of the coronavirus pandemic, government data shows.

Nearly two years ago, the North Dakota rig count had doubled from 2016. Earlier this year, despite the takedown of Iranian terror leader Qassem Soleimani, oil prices remained relatively stable following a tension in international relations that could have caused long lines at the gas pumps in the 1970s. Then, last month we saw a massive drop in oil prices designed to force American producers out of the market.

So if -$37 was the price of oil on the WTI, what were producers in places like Baker and Shelby, Montana getting for their oil? At least ten dollars worse according to Alan Olson with the Montana Petroleum Association. He joined us on Tuesday's Montana Talks.

When I heard $70 a barrel, I thought- well that's interesting. I mean, ten years ago the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) predicted that come 2020 oil prices would be hovering around $100 a barrel. Here we are in the midst of a crisis with Iran in 2020 and oil prices are still far lower than even the EIA predicted.

Democrat Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) went on a frack attack after visiting an oil rig down in Colorado, and let's just say it didn't end well for her. She even got fact-checked by a fellow Democrat on Twitter.

In a legal petition to the U.S. Department of Transportation, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and North Dakota’s Wayne Stenehjem said federal authority over railroads pre-empts the state law.

If your gas tank is on empty, it's a good time to fill up because these prices might not last for long.

Even though a majority of states saw gasoline prices jumping over the last week, Petroleum Analyst Will Speer said the same could not be said for Montana. Across the board, Montanans have seen close to a four-cent decrease in gas prices.

Stock markets are on high alert, reports say, after the DOW Jones plummeted over 1,000 points this past week -- the worst week since 2011.

Lower oil prices are cutting deep into the activity of Montana’s oil and gas industry and could soon impact the economy in a big way.