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1. 

   Scrivner speaks against state oil tax proposal

   By THE BAKERSFIELD CALIFORNIAN

   Wednesday, May 01 2013 04:10 PM

   Kern County Supervisor Zack Scrivner testified Wednesday against a state Senate bill that would impose a 9.5 percent tax on oil production and divide the proceeds between California higher education and state parks.

   Scrivner's comments before the Senate Finance and Governance Committee mirror the oil industry's position on similar proposals over the years. He said such a tax would kill jobs, chase away investment and reduce property tax and other government revenues.

   Speaking on behalf of the county Board of Supervisors, which last month voted to oppose the measure, SB 241, Scrivner testified that it would cost the county 7,000 oil field jobs and cut into the $20 million per year in tax revenues local governments collect from sales of...

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2. 

   Oil, ag opponents get more time to work out conflict

   Kern County supervisors voted to give rancher and land developer Keith Gardiner and Occidental Petroleum 30 more days to hammer out a deal that would resolve a years-long dispute between the two. The decision came after attorney George...

3. Lawsuit accuses Chevron of underpaying royalties

   A lawsuit filed last month accuses Chevron of fraudulently underpaying oil royalties to a family trust based in San Luis Obispo County. If the suit achieves the class-action status it seeks, it could extend to royalty owners in Kern and...

4. County oil plan may duck land use conflict

   The county's plan to overhaul local oil project reviews might sidestep the contentious issue of mineral versus surface rights, Kern's top planner said Tuesday. County Planning Director Lorelei Oviatt told members and guests of the Water...

5. Report sees economic benefits from 'fracking' in Monterey Shale

   A new study predicts that the Monterey Shale oil formation underlying much of the southern Central Valley will fuel substantial economic growth in California for years to come -- assuming continued use of the controversial but effective...
6. 

   Kern grower gets another bumper crop of disappointment

   A Kern County jury dealt a local grower another setback Wednesday in his fight against oil giant Aera Energy for polluting the groundwater under his farm. Westside farmer Fred Starrh, who has sought millions from Bakersfield-based Aera...

7. Reservoir output fell, says Oxy, seeking tax break

   Occidental Petroleum Corp. on Monday blamed an "underperforming old oil reservoir" for its efforts to knock more than a quarter off the taxable value of its prolific Elk Hills oil field in northwestern Kern. Beyond that, Oxy shed little...

9. Veteran county assessor Fitch to retire

   It took him a while, but after 39 years working in government, Kern County Assessor-Recorder James Fitch finally figured out that every day would bring new challenges and that there would always be another project to finish. There would...

10. 14 dead, at least 100 injured in Mexico City Pemex blast

    MEXICO CITY -- An explosion at the main headquarters of Mexico's state-owned oil company in the capital killed 14 people and injured 100 on Thursday as it heavily damaged three floors of a building, sending hundreds into the streets and a...

11. Salt Lake City airport partially reopens after weather closure

    SALT LAKE CITY -- The Salt Lake City International Airport partially reopened after closing for more than three hours because of freezing rain and icy conditions that caused a Frontier airplane to slide on the runway during landing. Airport...

12. Oil czars say California's rules are outdated

    Admitting that an agency founded nearly 100 years ago has failed to keep up with changes in how oil and gas is brought out of the ground, the state's top oil regulator has said in a long-awaited letter that changes are necessary that could...

13. Supervisors support local review of oil projects

    Caught in the middle of an escalating conflict between the local oil and ag industries, the Kern County Board of Supervisors made plans Tuesday to take over environmental reviews of Kern oil projects. It was unclear which sector, if either,...

14. Bills to regulate fracking die in Sacramento

    Two bills proposing new rules for fracking in California died last week in Sacramento, turning industry attention away from lawmakers and toward state regulators working on new guidelines of their own. One of the bills that stalled Aug. 16...