Michelin North America said Thursday it is winding down tire production at its factory in Ardmore, the city’s largest employer, eliminating 1,400 jobs plus a number of contractors.

Tire production should end by the end of 2025 or sooner, but rubber-mixing operations, which supply other factories, are expected to continue, the company said. Tire production will shift to other plants in North America.

No one in Ardmore saw this coming, said Bill Murphy, president and CEO of the Ardmore Development Authority.

“We were stunned this morning to learn the news of Michelin’s plan to begin winding down tire production at the Ardmore facility over the next two years,” he said “We are still processing this news and are considering what options might be available as we look ahead. This plant has been an anchor not only in Ardmore but throughout southern Oklahoma’s economy, providing hundreds of well-paying jobs for more than 50 years.” The Oklahoman

Michelin North America said Thursday it is winding down tire production at its factory in Ardmore, the city’s largest employer, eliminating 1,400 jobs plus a number of contractors.

Tire production should end by the end of 2025 or sooner, but rubber-mixing operations, which supply other factories, are expected to continue, the company said. Tire production will shift to other plants in North America.

No one in Ardmore saw this coming, said Bill Murphy, president and CEO of the Ardmore Development Authority. The Oklahoman

BARTLESVILLE — The energy industry is undergoing a transition in which innovation and balancing sustainability with economics is vitally important, the CEO of Phillips 66 said.

With the increase of electric vehicles, “gasoline demand in North America has probably peaked and is declining,” said CEO Mark Lashier.

“From a commercial perspective … we will export into a growing gasoline market globally, but also we believe, longer term, that the molecules going into gasoline are also pretty good molecules to convert into petrochemicals,” which can be used in sustainable fuels, he said.

While new electric technologies and cleaner fuels are being expanded into the market, there will continue to be a need for liquid hydrocarbons for many years to come, he said. Tulsa World

The first Cobalt and Nickle refinery will be built by metals refinery startup Westwin Elements (A Bartlesville-based company) in Lawton and construction will begin no later than October.

The principal investor Dennis Muelinburg broke ground along with Governor Kevin Stitt on Tuesday calling it a matter of national security.

According to the International Energy Agency the Democratic Republic of the Congo and China produce 70% of nickel and 60% cobalt globally currently.

The Biden Administration is fast tracking domestic mines and refineries as it pushes to shift from fossil fuels to renewable sources. The Sentinel

The electric vehicle startup Canoo Inc. is running out of cash and has until Aug. 20 to buy a factory site in Oklahoma City or lose up to $7.5 million in state incentives.

A spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce said the agency was in ongoing talks with the company but declined to release additional information.

Canoo said in November 2022 that it had a contract to buy a 630,000-square-foot factory near Interstate 40 in far-west Oklahoma City. But in April, the company announced that AFV Partners, a different company controlled by Canoo CEO Tony Aquila, had purchased the factory instead. Canoo has a 10-year contract to lease the facility from AFV Partners.

The lease arrangement has eased the financial strain on Canoo as it tries to conserve money while trying to bring its vehicles to market, Aquila said in a call with investors on May 15.

But under the terms of two current incentive contracts with the Department of Commerce, Canoo must purchase a factory to qualify for millions of dollars from the Governor’s Quick Action Closing Fund, a pot of state-appropriated cash intended to help lure new jobs to Oklahoma. Canoo’s Quick Action incentive deal is the largest of its kind in state history, but collecting the money is contingent on the company meeting hiring goals and other performance measures.

Becky Samples, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Commerce, confirmed there is a deadline looming in August.

“However, Commerce is continuing discussions with Canoo to find a mutually beneficial outcome for the company and the state,” she said in an email. Tahlequah Daily Press