Tulsa area ranked No. 2 for corporate facilities
For the second year in a row, Tulsa ranked No. 2 among its class of metro areas for the number of new and expanded corporate facilities, according to Site Selection magazine.
The Tulsa area recorded 41 facility projects in 2012. Among metros with a population of 200,000 to 1 million, Tulsa was topped only by Dayton, Ohio, which had 53 facility projects last year, according to the magazine.
In 2011, Tulsa and Dayton tied at No. 2 with 34 facility projects each.
The magazine breaks metros into tiers based on their population size, including those with populations of more than 1 million, those with populations between 50,000 to 200,000, as well as "micropolitans," which are cities of 10,000 to 50,000.
Among Tier 1 metros with a population of more than 1 million, Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land once again landed the No. 1 spot with 325 new and expanded facilities in 2012, up from 195 facilities in 2011.
Some of the projects that factored into Tulsa's 2012 project count included Baker Hughes Inc. in Claremore; Team Oil Tools LP, AT&T Inc. and capSpire Inc. in Tulsa; and AG Equipment Co. and CSI Aerospace in Broken Arrow, according to the magazine's editor-in-chief, Mark Arend.
- LAURIE WINSLOW, World Staff Writer
Williams, Boardwalk partner on NGL pipeline
Tulsa-based Williams Cos. Inc. announced Wednesday that it will team with Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP on a pipeline system to bring natural gas liquids from the Marcellus and Utica shales to the Gulf Coast.
The planned Bluegrass Pipeline initially would offer 200,000 barrels per day of NGL take-away capacity for producers in Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, Williams said. The new line, which could be in service by 2015, would connect with Boardwalk's Texas Gas Transmission system in Hardinsburg, Ky., and from there make its way to the coasts of Louisiana and Texas for fractionation, export markets and use as feedstock at petrochemical plants.
The Marcellus and deeper Utica are roughly in the same areas of the Northeast. Both are considered gas- and liquids-rich fields.
"We are designing Bluegrass Pipeline to provide these two world-class resource plays with access to one of the largest and most dynamic petrochemical markets in the world," Williams CEO Alan Armstrong said. "In turn, this will help producers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia achieve an attractive value for their ethane and other liquids."
- ROD WALTON, World Staff Writer
Diamonsecret closing after owner's death
Pamela Miller's fondest memories of her brother's jewelry shop were the elaborate birthday parties he would throw for his customers.
Kelly St. Clair made sure he had home-baked goods and music for the celebrations that lasted for hours at Diamonsecret, his store at 8172 S. Lewis Ave.
"They really were queen of the store for the day," Miller said. "It was so much fun."
St. Clair died Dec. 1 at the age of 57. Last week Diamonsecret began winding down operations and selling its remaining stock of jewelry.
St. Clair, who opened the shop in 1980, designed a line of custom jewelry using gemstones and simulated diamonds.
The family was shocked when St. Clair, an exercise enthusiast, died of natural causes, Miller said.
- KYLE ARNOLD, World Staff Writer
Hargis resigns from Chesapeake board
Oklahoma State University President Burns Hargis, caught up in Chesapeake Energy's financial crisis, has resigned from the company's board effective immediately, the oil and gas producer announced Thursday.
Chesapeake's board accepted Hargis' resignation and announced he will be replaced by Louis A. Raspino, a longtime oilman most recently CEO of Pride International until its 2011 merger with Ensco.
Hargis was appointed to the board of Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. in September 2008. He offered to resign last summer after investors criticized him and others in the controversy surrounding company co-founder and CEO Aubrey McClendon. Four other directors stepped down, including former U.S. Sen. Don Nickles.
"With the completion of my final assignment, it is the appropriate time for me to step aside," Hargis said in a statement. "As I depart the board, I am confident in the future of Chesapeake because of its strong assets, experienced management team and dedicated employees."
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating McClendon's private investments in company-owned wells.
- ROD WALTON, World Staff Writer
