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‘Christmas in July’ fundraiser for WaKeeney’s ‘Get Lit’ campaign

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By DENA WEIGEL BELL
WaKeeney Travel Blog

Who says Christmas only comes once a year? In the Christmas City of the High Plains we celebrate our favorite holiday year-round with a second celebration in July!

The mid-year “Christmas in July” festival will be held at everyone’s favorite summer spot, the WaKeeney Water Park, on Saturday, July 14th and there is a sleigh full of goodies that will get everyone into a festive spirit.

Christmas Activities

Kids can hone their gingerbread cookie decorating skills and enter their gingerbread house in a contest for the best decoration. The virtual reality “Santa’s Sleigh” ride from our winter festival is back to recapture Santa’s famous annual ride. Give this exciting adventure a try—it’s a great way to relive the cool weather on a hot summer day.

More game booths will challenge you and food vendors have tasty treats to try. Stick around after the sun sets for the blockbuster movie “Elf” that will be shown in the park at 8:30 and there is lawn seating for everyone.

“Get Lit” Campaign for a Brighter Main Street

All proceeds from the “Christmas in July” event will go to our “Get Lit” campaign for new LED color-changing perimeter lights from Inception Lighting of Irving, TX.  (The existing lights were severely damaged during the 2017 hail storm in WaKeeney.)

The programmable, color changing light strands will be attached to the top of the buildings along Main Street behind matching molding that will cover the mechanics and allow them to blend into the architecture.

(Photo by Inception Lighting)

After the lights are installed Main Street will be flooded with red, white and blue on July 4th and purple and gold on game days, along with other color combinations on different holidays. The whole system is guaranteed for up to ten years and we’re expecting the cost savings to be considerable for both electricity and maintenance—up to approximately $300 per year!

Join us at the Swimming Pool Park on Saturday, July 14th at 4:30 p.m. for this fun fundraising event—WaKeeney’s “Christmas in July!”

 

Jana’s Campaign receives Nebraska Community Partnership Award

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Submitted

Jana’s Campaign Inc. was awarded the 2018 Partnership Award at the Family and Consumer Sciences Teachers of Nebraska Recognition Banquet in Kearney, Nebraska. This award recognizes individuals or groups who help support FCS Education in Nebraska schools. Jana’s Campaign is proud to be chosen as this year’s recipient.

“The staff and board of directors at Jana’s Campaign are honored to receive this award. We know we are only able to do our work and share our prevention message with students because of the great partnerships we have with teachers and schools. Their invitations to classrooms and school assemblies means we can share information about the red flags of unhealthy relationships to help prevent dating and sexual violence before it begins,” said Kim Cebula, executive director for Jana’s Campaign.

Nebraska FCS integrates family and career readiness with technical skill instruction within a critical science perspective. Since 2015, Jana’s Campaign has collaborated with 72 Nebraska FCS teachers and 98 schools to provide education about teen dating violence in addition to their work in Kansas and Colorado.

Jana’s Campaign is a national education and gender violence prevention organization in Hays. The organization was created in honor of Jana Mackey who lost her life to domestic violence in 2008. Mackey, a law student at the University of Kansas at the time, spent years volunteering and helping victims of sexual assault and domestic violence.

In addition to providing prevention education in middle and high schools, Jana’s Campaign also works with colleges and universities to prevent and respond to dating and sexual violence on campus. The organization similarly provides community prevention education through workshops, speaking engagements, community service projects and social media. In 2017, Jana’s Campaign also received the Merit Award from the Kansas Association of Teachers of FCS.

More information about Jana’s Campaign can be found at the website: janascampaign.org

Public hearing Wed. by Hays Area Board of Zoning Appeals

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CITY OF HAYS

A public hearing will be held Wed, July 11 at 8:15 a.m. in Hays City Hall by the Hays Area Board of Zoning Appeals.

A request has been submitted by Matt Wilson/HaysTW, LLC and Scott Crawford – Crawford Supply Company for a reduction to the merchandise screening requirements for the Fenced Outdoor Display area and for the open display area at the northwest corner of 48th and Roth.

Ad Astra Music Festival opens Friday in Russell

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RUSSELL – The Ad Astra Music Festival colors central Kansas with classical music during the month of July.

Bringing over 60 artists from all around the country, Ad Astra is a unique music festival, spanning three weekends in July and integrating emerging young artists, community members, and professional musicians. In its fifth year of existence, the festival includes both main stage and chamber music performances as well as the festival’s new Sunday Evening Series.

The four main stage performances are large-scale events featuring world-class performers, suitable for large audiences. Tickets to each event are $10.

The main stage concerts include Brahms’ Requiem, performed by the joined forces of the Russell Community Choir, Ad Astra High School Honor Choir, and the Ad Astra Chamber Choir, Jazz at the Barn, featuring Russell native and Ft. Hays State University trumpet and jazz professor, Brad Dawson and his crew of jazz musicians in an intimate, outdoor setting, Semiconsciousness, which explores music composed within the last decade that illuminates our hopes, fears, and unspoken ideas, and the dramatic and beloved Bach’s St. Matthew Passion.

Additionally, the festival’s three chamber music performances in the Deines Cultural Center place audiences intimately close to smaller casts of performers. Limited seating available. Tickets to each event are $10.

Ad Astra String Quartet members Madeleine Wething, Arman Nasrinpay, Caitlyn Fukai and Sally Murphy

Kate Soper’s 2014 opera, Here be Sirens, The Elements, a recital featuring the 2018 Young Artists singing the music of Franz Schubert and Matthew Piatt about earth, wind, fire, and water, and Cannonballs Fly, an evening filled with musical responses to war and peace, featuring the Ad Astra String Quartet, mezzo-soprano Katelyn Mattson-Levy, tenor Michael Davidson, and pianist Matthew Piatt. The public can save $20 by buying season tickets to the seven ticketed events for only $50! Tickets will be available at the Russell Economic Development Office, Espresso Etc., and on the festival’s website: www.adastramusicfestival.org.

This year, the festival is also collaborating with local churches to offer sacred music during the festival’s new Sunday Evening Series. Three performances bring the historical music of the church home to Russell and provides an opportunity for people of all denominations to join together for these meditative events. Each performance begins at 7:00 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

– SUBMITTED –

HAWVER: Kan. school debate on the verge of changing focus

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Martin Hawver
We’ve heard years of whining about public school funding in Kansas.

Legislators have griped that the state isn’t adequately supporting public schools, other legislators have complained that the state is spending too much on public schools or local school boards are spending it wrong?

Well, that’s nearly all over. The Kansas Supreme Court in its decision last month decided that if the Legislature will just appropriate enough money to make up for several years of low-ball spending, the state’s school finance not only will meet equity standards but that dollar-sign punctuated the adequacy threshold.

Now, folks in the Statehouse are still doing the long division and such to come up with a flat number for an increase in state funding the high court says is necessary. Early estimates are that somewhere between $80 million and $120 million in additional spending in each of the next four years would meet the court’s order. Few are doubting that there will be enough money to make that increase in state aid.

But…then…the whole issue of public education changes.

Once the money meets constitutional standards for adequacy—and if the Legislature doesn’t short-change that standard in the out-years as it has in past court-watched deals—what happens to public education?

There will be a sizable percentage of the Legislature that figures if the money is OK, it’s over. And there will be a sizable percentage which decides that “constitutional” doesn’t really speak to just what the students learn and how it helps them live a prosperous life, take care of their kids and their parents when needed, and make the state more prosperous.

The difference? Maybe that’s where Kansans find out—and tell their legislators—just what they want from schools. After years of fighting over the money, it’s likely the debate will switch to just how schools teach, how well the students do on standardized tests, and which districts produce the highest number of graduates ready to proceed with their lives, get technical education, go on to college or whatever.

Some of that debate will undoubtedly splash back on locally elected boards of education. Because the constitutional money issue can be off the table, it’s looking at individual districts to see which of the 278 districts uses that “constitutionally adequate” state aid to produce the smartest students with the best futures ahead of them.

New football helmets and cheerleader uniforms or additional classes to make sure students with disabilities get the best education they can? Or whether every student gets a computer to carry around and the schoolbooks (they still have them?) are the latest, best-written volumes in print?

We’re down to a court-blessed adequate funding plan and unless the State Board of Education radically changes its measurement of student performance, lawmakers will be able to see where money is being spent well and where it apparently isn’t being spent in the best interests of the students—and their families.

That’s a dramatic change in the school finance debate. It’s not just about money, though lawmakers could of course put more in, but it’s about just what the state is getting for its adequate spending of taxpayers’ money.

Now, of course, there is still battling to be done—ranging from the court’s “adequate” being too high or low to the authority of the court to decide cases in which the Legislature is held to a standard for funding of schools.

But there may be a dramatic change in K-12 education policy, and you can bet that there will be splash-back on individual school districts and their locally elected members if they can’t make “adequate” funding produce smarter and smarter students.

This might be interesting to watch…

Syndicated by Hawver News Company LLC of Topeka; Martin Hawver is publisher of Hawver’s Capitol Report—to learn more about this nonpartisan statewide political news service, visit the website at www.hawvernews.com

🎥 City offers Turf Conversion Rebate

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By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The growing season is still suitable for about another week to plant warm-season turf grass such as Buffalo or Bermuda.

The city of Hays encourages private property owners to convert from cool-season turf grasses like Tall Fescue and Kentucky Blue Grass which require supplemental irrigation during the hot summer months to keep them looking nice.

A Turf Conversion Rebate is available from the city to those who convert well-maintained cool season turf to warm-season turf or water-conserving landscaping.

“Warm-season grasses thrive during the heat of the summer and therefore require very little if any supplemental irrigation once established,” explains Holly Dickman, Water Conservation Specialist for the city of Hays. “The same is true with drought tolerant landscaping plants.”

The maximum rebate is $1,500 and the pre-inspection is good for one year. Pre- and post-inspections by Dickman are required for rebate eligibility.

Details about the rebate are available at www.watersmarthays.com.

SCHLAGECK: Better than expected

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John Schlageck writes for the Kansas Farm Bureau.

“Better than expected, but not what we’d hoped for.”

This is what I heard when I asked Kansas farmers about this year’s wheat harvest. Still, with the little moisture received during the growing season, the 2018 wheat crop panned out better than most Kansas farmers thought it would.

Steve Boor, Lincoln County farmer wrapped up harvest June 30, two weeks after he began. The 2018 wheat harvest dragged on longer than usual because of the pesky showers that dropped a few hundredths of rain then disappeared. The rain resulted in harvest delays as Boor and other farmers waited for the crop to dry out.

In addition to the holdups, the veteran Lincoln County wheat producer says the quality varied, the yields varied – everything varied. The wheat looked much better going into the (combine) header than it did going into the bin.

“Just spots, spots and more spots,” Boor says. “We’d be cutting along and go through a thin spot and ask, ‘what happened here?’ It obviously wasn’t the drill, it wasn’t the sprayer – it just amazed me that a field of wheat could go from little, if any wheat to good, thick wheat so quickly.”

One of the challenges harvesters face in thin wheat is traveling fast enough to keep a steady mat of crop flowing through the combine. This is necessary to utilize the machine’s large threshing capacity.

Traveling at faster speeds to ensure efficient threshing sometimes presents its own inconveniences.

“Hitting a good-sized badger hole at those speeds can certainly jar your teeth,” Boor says.

Another sign of a stressed crop this harvest included a small percentage of stalks lodged too close to the ground to recover. Some instances of broken stalks showed up throughout this year’s harvest.

Wheat protein levels on the Lincoln County crop will likely range from the upper 12s to the lower 13s. Yields varied from approximately 50 bushels-per-acre on the river bottom ground in widely isolated small patches to the mid-30s on much of the 2018 crop.

“I’m sure the wheat lightened up a bit the longer we cut,” Boor says. “Still, I’m hoping the test weight hung tough at least about 59 pounds-per-bushel.”

Amazingly enough, this year’s wheat crop demonstrated its ever-enduring properties. It proved once again, wheat needs timely moisture to produce an abundant crop.

During the early period of the growing season after the first of the year, Boor wouldn’t have bet a “plug nickel” on even harvesting this year’s crop considering the lack of snow and rain.

“You cannot fault the wheat for not yielding more,” he says. “The crop just played the hand it was dealt and did the best it could.”

After talking with neighbors and other producers across Kansas, Boor believes the crop he harvested is like many others across the state.

“I didn’t see anyone tearing up the roads with trucks hauling wheat to the elevators,” he says. “I have yet to hear anyone pounding their chest and saying, ‘Look what we cut.’”

Needless to say, there probably will not be much double cropping beans behind this harvested wheat crop. With the lack of moisture in most places of the state, farmers aren’t ready to gamble on a second crop.

The Lincoln County farmer remains optimistic the fall crops will benefit from some timely rains. This would move the milo and beans a long way down the road to a better fall harvest.

“When you’re cutting a tough wheat crop, it’s nice to look across the field and see milo that looks really good,” Boor says. “We’re not home yet, but with a few good rains, I think we could harvest a decent fall crop.”

And for those few farmers still cutting wheat in the far northwestern region of Kansas?

“Say a prayer for those still trying to finish harvest,” he says. “Wish them luck.”

John Schlageck, a Hoxie native, is a leading commentator on agriculture and rural Kansas.

Sunny, hot Tuesday

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Today Sunny, with a high near 95. Light south wind becoming south southeast 5 to 10 mph in the morning.

Tonight Mostly clear, with a low around 71. South southeast wind 6 to 13 mph.

Wednesday Sunny, with a high near 95. South wind 8 to 14 mph.

Wednesday Night Mostly clear, with a low around 71. South southeast wind 7 to 15 mph.

Thursday Sunny, with a high near 95. South wind 9 to 13 mph.

Thursday Night Partly cloudy, with a low around 72.

Friday Mostly sunny, with a high near 95.

McLaren honored with Citizen Award; WWF parade, egg hunt winners announced Saturday

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Hays Post

Merle McLaren, 89, of Hays was honored Saturday night with the Wild West Festival All American Citizen Award.

McLaren served in the Air Force during the Korean and Vietnam wars. He is a member of the VFW Honor Guard.

He ran the Hays GMC dealership and was instrumental in development on north Vine Street.

Two hospitalized after early morning fire in Hays

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At 6:04 a.m. Monday, City of Hays emergency dispatchers were alerted to a house fire at 512 W. 17th. The Hays Fire Department, assisted by Ellis County Fire Department Company 5, Hays Police Department and Ellis County EMS was immediately dispatched.

Arriving firefighters found a room and contents fire in the bathroom area of the home. Two hose lines were used to control the fire. The building suffered smoke damage throughout the home. Firefighters checked the entire home for fire extension.

One victim was transported to Hays Medical Center for treatment and one firefighter was treated for injuries on-scene and released.

Six fire trucks and 21 firefighters responded. The last crew left the scene at 8:17 a.m.

“The Hays Fire Department would like to remind our citizens the importance of having working smoke alarms in your home,” the HFD said in a news release. “Please call the Hays Fire Department (785-628-7330) to take advantage of our free smoke alarm program.”

— HFD

HPD Activity Log July 6-8

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The Hays Police Department responded to 8 animal calls and conducted 30 traffic stops Fri., July 6, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Disturbance – Noise–300 block E 12th St, Hays; 1:15 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–200 block E 17th St, Hays; 2:51 AM
Disturbance – General–2200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 7:19 AM
Urinating in Public–400 block E 15th St, Hays; 8:09 AM
Disorderly Conduct–3300 block Vine St, Hays; 9:26 AM
Animal At Large–1400 block US 183 Alt Hwy, Hays; 9:52 AM
Animal Call–200 block W 17th St, Hays; 11:01 AM
Theft of Vehicle–700 block Vine St, Hays; 11:34 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–100 block W 16th St, Hays; 11:50 AM
Found/Lost Property–300 block E 24th St, Hays; 12:45 PM
Theft (general)–4300 block Vine St, Hays; 1:23 PM
Civil Dispute–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 1:30 PM
Traffic/Driving Complaint–13th St and Vine St, Hays; 1:33 PM
Search Warrant–1100 block E 13th St, Hays; 2:58 PM; 3:42 PM
Mental Health Call–500 block E 14th St, Hays; 2:39 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–800 block Vine, Hays; 3:17 PM
Dead Animal Call–700 block W 12th St, Hays; 3:53 PM
Animal Bite Investigation–3000 block E 14th St, Hays; 4:03 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–27th St and Canal Blvd, Hays; 10:25 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–500 block E 11th St, Hays; 4:44 PM
Burglary/residence–300 block E 13th St, Hays; 5:11 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–200 block  W 33rd St, Hays; 6:07 PM
Water Use Violation–1100 block Oakmont St, Hays; 6:17 PM; 6:35 PM
Animal Injured–27th St and Walnut St, Hays; 7:49 PM
MV Accident-Private Property-Injury–1700 block Vine St, Hays; 8:28 PM
Suspicious Activity–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 8:54 PM
Mental Health Call–3400 block Summer Ln, Hays; 10:38 PM
Animal Call–1100 block Drum Ave, Hays; 10:54 PM
Welfare Check–1700 block Volga Dr, Hays; 11:01 PM
Found/Lost Property–100 block Main St, Hays; 11:38 PM
Assist – Other (not MV)–2200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 11:41 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 4 animal calls and conducted 40 traffic stops Sat., July 7, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Intoxicated Subject–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:05 AM
Underage Possession of CMB/LIQ–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:21 AM
Underage Possession of CMB/LIQ–100 block W 7th St, Hays; 12:50 AM
Intoxicated Subject–400 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:02 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–200 block E 7th St, Hays; 2 AM; 2:07 AM
Disorderly Conduct–4000 block Gen Hays Rd, Hays; 2:23 AM
Driving Under the Influence–27th and Hall, Hays; 2:26 AM
Aggravated Battery–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:15 AM; 1:25 AM
Missing Person–500 block E 13th St, Hays; 3:46 AM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–100 block W 7th St, Hays; 9:05 AM
Abandoned Vehicle–500 block W 7th St, Hays; 10:05 AM
Driving Under the Influence–300 block Mopar Dr, Hays; 12:23 PM; 12:36 PM
Lost Animals ONLY–1700 block Holmes Rd, Hays; 12:25 PM
Mental Health Call–3400 block Summer Ln, Hays; 12:47 PM
Water Use Violation–3300 block Country Ln, Hays; 1:35 PM
Mental Health Call–3400 block Summer Ln, Hays; 2:04 PM
Civil Dispute–200 block W 16th St, Hays; 2:34 PM
Animal At Large–1000 block Reservation Rd, Hays; 2:42 PM
Mental Health Call–1400 block E 29th St, Hays; 2:43 PM
Criminal Damage to Property–400 block W 5th St, Hays; 1 AM; 6:30 PM
Contempt of Court/Fail to Pay–100 block Main St, Hays; 8:49 PM
Disorderly Conduct–100 block Main St, Hays; 9:03 PM
Disturbance – Noise–800 block Ash St, Hays; 11:36 PM

The Hays Police Department responded to 3 animal calls and conducted 26 traffic stops Sun., July 8, 2018, according to the HPD Activity Log.

Intoxicated Subject–400 block W 7th St, Hays; 1:42 AM
Found/Lost Property–1400 block Ash St, Hays; 1:55 AM
Criminal Damage to Property–200 block W 15th St, Hays; 2:11 AM
Assist – Other (not MV)–2200 block Canterbury Dr, Hays; 2:21 AM
Disorderly Conduct–400 block W 7th St, Hays; 2:10 AM; 2:18 AM
MV Accident /DUI–500 block W 20th St, Hays; 3:22 AM
Animal Call–200 block Northridge Dr, Hays; 8:30 AM
Animal At Large–1500 block Haney Dr, Hays; 11:26 AM
Theft (general)–4000 block Gen Hays Rd, Hays; 7/7 1 PM; 7/8 12:30 AM
Drug Offenses–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 1:28 PM
Warrant Service (Fail to Appear)–3400 block Vine St, Hays; 1:04 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–1000 block E 29th St, Hays; 1:37 PM; 1:40 PM
MV Accident-City Street/Alley–500 block W 16th St, Hays; 2:25 PM
Welfare Check–1100 block Downing Ave, Hays; 3:18 PM
Suspicious Activity–100 block W 6th St, Hays; 4:08 PM
Welfare Check–100 block W 12th St, Hays; 4:52 PM
Criminal Threat–2700 block Canal Blvd, Hays; 8:15 PM
Disturbance – Fight–1000 block E 8th St, Hays; 10:25 PM; 10:31 PM
Welfare Check–200 block W 5th St, Hays; 10:32 PM

News From the Oil Patch, July 9: Ellis County tops Kan. production again

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By JOHN P. TRETBAR

The latest crude-oil production tally from the Kansas Geological Survey shows a continuing decline. K.G.S. reported 3.05 million barrels of new Kansas production in March, for a three-month total of 8.7 million bbl. That’s about 200,000 barrels less than last year’s first-quarter total. Annual production last year was the lowest since 2006. Ellis County continues to lead the state with production of about 659,000 barrels, an improvement of nearly 90,000 barrels over the first quarter of last year. Barton County produced 423,000 barrels and Russell County produced 392,000, both about the same as last year’s three-month totals. Stafford County is down slightly to just over 256,000 barrels produced in the first quarter of this year.

Here are the top ten oil-producing counties in Kansas for the first quarter of 2018, according to the Kansas Geological Survey.
Ellis County: 658,208 bbl
Haskell County: 622,114 bbl
Barton County: 423,779 bbl
Finney County: 419,227 bbl
Russell County: 392,380 bbl
Rooks County: 381,155 bbl
Ness County: 377,193 bbl
Stafford County: 256,731 bbl
Graham County: 233,664 bbl
Butler County: 199,389 bbl
Logan County: 193,385 bbl

Baker Hughes reports 1,052 active drilling rigs across the U.S., an increase of five oil rigs. North Dakota, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Louisiana were all in the plus column, while Texas reported a drop of four rigs. Independent Oil & Gas Service reports 21 active drilling rigs in eastern Kansas, up five, and 29 west of Wichita, down two. Operators are moving in completion tools to four leases in Barton County and six in Ellis County.

Independent Oil & Gas Service reported 56 newly-completed wells last week across Kansas, 26 east of Wichita and 30 in the western half of the state. Two wells were completed in Ellis County, and one in Russell County. Operators have completed 791 wells so far this year.

Kansas operators filed 48 new drilling permits last week, 34 in eastern Kansas and 14 west of Wichita, for a year-to-date total of 854 permits. Barton, Ellis and Stafford counties report one new permit each.

Energy regulators in Texas report big increases in that state’s oil and gas production during the month of April. Preliminary figures from the Railroad Commission of Texas showed average production of more than 2.7 million barrels per day, up from 2.6 million a year earlier.

The sticker-shock begins in Oklahoma for oil producers and drivers, as the state’s first tax hike in nearly thirty years took effect last week. Gasoline goes up three cents a gallon, and the Gross Production Tax on oil and gas wells jumps from two to five percent. A spokesman for the Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association told the Enid News & Eagle most drillers have already planned operations for this year, but suggests bearish impact in the patch could likely show up next year. The Daily Oklahoman reports the new fuel tax rates are expected to bring in $105 million during the budget year that began July 1. The changes are expected to raise an estimated $100 million from oil production and another $71 million from natural gas.

BP plans to sell its stake in a large northern Alaska oil field to ConocoPhillips. The Anchorage Daily News reports the company hopes to increase its holdings in an offshore oil field near the UK instead, and focus its Alaska operations on the Prudhoe Bay field. The company said the operators at the Kuparuk field will remain the same, and the state of Alaska will see little change in taxes and royalties.

Suncor on Monday provided an update on the company’s Syncrude oil sands facility in Alberta, Canada, following a power disruption on June 20. Power and steam systems have been fully restored, the assessment and repair for the transformer is underway, and the safe and staged return to operations has begun. Company officials hope they’ll be back to nearly 70% of capacity in August and say they could ramp up to full production by mid-September. That’s roughly two months more down time than originally announced. The outage is providing a boost to Canadian oil prices, as it temporarily creates much-needed spare capacity on the region’s pipelines.

Cenovus Energy’s acquisition of oil sands assets last year from ConocoPhillips has propelled the company to Canada’s number three energy firm in terms of production volume, behind Canadian Natural Resources and Suncor Energy. That’s according to the Dutch auditing firm KPMG. Cenovus doubled its production in May 2017 after spending $17.7 billion to become 100 percent owner of the Foster Creek and Christina Lake oil sands projects.

Despite earlier optimism, China’s independent or “teapot” refineries are not buying as much crude oil, or at least they’re not taking delivery. Reuters reports four supertankers chartered by BP have been held up or delayed off the coast of China for the last two months. That comes amid escalating global trade tensions, rising crude oil prices, an oversupplied domestic fuel market and tighter government tax scrutiny.

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