Energy Impact in Tulsa

Overview: Maybe the Golden Driller or the oil rig water fountain at Centennial Green pay ample tribute to what energy means to Tulsa, but a quick read through the Fortune 500 does the trick, too.

Neither the past nor the future can tell the complete story of the oil, natural gas, utility and coal sectors impact the local economy. Right here, right now, are seven Fortune 500 companies which employ large groups of relatively well-paid workers in the seven-county Tulsa Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Names like Williams Cos. ONEOK Inc., ConocoPhillips, Baker Hughes, Apache Corp., AEP and HollyFrontier Corp. — some headquartered in Tulsa, some not — lead a Tulsa-area energy industry that employs more local people than any other sector other than health care.

Tulsa’s energy companies create nearly $29 billion in total economic output annually, nearly triple what the health care and aerospace sectors singularly offer in Tulsa.

See a list of some of the largest energy employers in Tulsa.

This page is home to all of the Tulsa World's coverage of the energy industry.

Headlines

AEP-PSO bills to go up in March after rise in fuel cost, end of refund program 2/16/2013

Customers of AEP-PSO will see their electric bills rise by an average 15 percent starting next month as the utility increases its fuel-adjustment charges back to 2011 levels.

NGL Energy Partners reports $40.5 million profit 2/16/2013

NGL Energy Partners LP exceeded earnings expectations in its third fiscal quarter, generating $40.5 million in profit from its propane, crude oil and water services segments, the Tulsa-based company announced Friday.

Pipe-making giant Tenaris SA to build $1.3 billion Texas plant 2/16/2013

International energy pipeline giant Tenaris SA has announced plans to build a $1.3 billion Gulf Coast manufacturing facility south of Houston, creating 600 jobs.

AEP-PSO raising fuel cost portion on electric bills 2/15/2013

Customers of AEP-PSO likely will see their electric bills rising starting next month as the utility increases its fuel-adjustment charges back to 2011 levels.

Oil: Price under $96 a barrel on US industrial data 2/15/2013

Oil prices fell below $96 a barrel Friday after disappointing U.S. industrial production data fed concerns about the nation's economic recovery.

Governor to support OSU's use of wind power 2/15/2013

Gov. Mary Fallin plans to attend a ceremony to celebrate Oklahoma State University's use of wind power as the main source of electricity for its campus in Stillwater.

Net income rises for Tulsa-based NGL Energy Partners 2/15/2013

NGL Energy Partners LP exceeded earnings expectations in its third fiscal quarter, generating $40.5 million in profit from its propane, crude oil and water services segments, the Tulsa-based energy firm announced Friday.

Energy Security Trust seen boosting drilling, clean energy 2/15/2013

President Barack Obama's proposal to fund clean-energy research with fees paid by oil and gas producers is renewing a debate over whether the promise of innovation tomorrow is worth expanding drilling today.

Gasoline jumps to nearly $3.50 a gallon in Tulsa 2/15/2013

Gasoline in Tulsa has jumped to almost $3.50 per gallon for the first time since early autumn.

Oil: Price rises above $97 per barrel 2/14/2013

The price of oil rose above $97 per barrel Thursday, reversing Wednesday's small drop.

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By the numbers

Tulsa’s energy sector accounts for:

2.5 percent of all jobs in the area
4 percent of computer and mathematical occupations
6.6 percent of all wages
7.6 percent of management positions
14.7 percent of science occupations (geologists, etc.)
26 percent of the architecture and engineering positions held locally

Source: Tulsa Metro Chamber Chief Economist Bob Ball and U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Timeline

Tulsa’s early version of the Golden Driller is hoisted up onto an oil derrick in 1959.

Tulsa’s energy sector highs and lows

Early 20th century: Tulsa defined as new “oil capital of the world” after giant finds at Red Fork (1901) and Glenn Pool (1905)
1918: Dave and Miller Williams move pipeline and construction firm, Williams, from Fort Smith, Ark. to Tulsa.
1920: Bill Payne joins Walt Helmerich to start drilling rig company that becomes Helmerich & Payne.
1923: Tulsa oil men create first International Petroleum Exposition and Congress.
1986: Oil bust leads to mass layoffs industry-wide, and Tulsa oil and gas companies are no exception.
1989: Reeding and Bates Corp. moves to Houston, only five years after adding 20 floors to Mid-Continent Tower in downtown Tulsa
1996: Warren Petroleum Co. ceases operations as NGC Corp. moves remaining employees to Houston.
2001: Parker Drilling Co. moves corporate HQ to Houston
2002: Bartlesville-based Phillips Petroleum Co. merges with Conoco Inc. and moves HQ to Houston
2002: Helmerich & Payne spins off exploration and production segment, merges it with Key Production to create Cimarex. Merged company based in Denver but maintains significant Tulsa office.
2004: Citgo Petroleum Corp. moves HQ to Houston.
2009: Holly Corp. (later HollyFrontier) buys Tulsa’s refineries from Sunoco Inc. and Sinclair Oil Corp.
2010: Oklahoma City-based SandRidge Energy buys out Tulsa-based Arena Resources Inc. for $1.6 billion
2011: Four Tulsa-based companies — Rose Rock Midstream, Mid-Con Energy Partners, Laredo Petroleum Inc. and WPX Energy Inc. — go public through IPOs or spinoffs. Baker Hughes announces major expansion at Tulsa area plants.
Early 2012: RAM Energy renamed Halcon Resources Corp. and HQ moving to Houston. RAM maintaining Tulsa offices.

Glossary

The Energy Industry, including oil and gas, speaks a language all its own. Here’s a glossary of everyday terms which may need defining for the general public.

Contact the Tulsa World

Rod Walton has covered the Tulsa World's energy beat since July 2008. He has won Oklahoma Press Association and Great Plains awards for his stories about the SemGroup bankruptcy and oil futures trading collapse.

Walton has worked at the World since 1993, as Community World editor, assistant city editor and state writer. He graduated 1986 from the University of Oklahoma. Walton lives in Bartlesville with his wife and four children.

Contact: 918-581-8457, rod.walton@tulsaworld.com