High

Oil production in Texas continued climbing during May, while natural gas output trended down as it has for much of this year.

In what would be an historically high fine, the safety staff of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) last week amended its $2.25 billion penalty recommendation against or Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) concerning the San Bruno, CA, natural gas pipeline rupture, to include a minimum of $300 million paid to the state’s general fund.

The U.S. oil and gas industry is riding high, and those who have the wherewithal and the talents are catching the wave with it, according to the latest Forbes Billionaires list.

As an option for fleet operators turned off by high up-front costs of switching off of diesel or gasoline, two firms in the West have come up with a leasing alternative for long-haul liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered tractor trailers.

Despite the shale revolution in North America transforming global energy dynamics, the United States is unlikely to disengage completely from the Persian Gulf because other nations still depend on the region and it will still affect the world’s oil prices, according to a draft report presented to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he will make the long-delayed decision on whether to lift a moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) before the next gubernatorial election in 2014.

A coalition of nine environmental groups in West Virginia have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to require that operators add tracers to fluids used in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) at Marcellus Shale oil and gas wells drilled near the Monongahela National Forest.

Goodrich Petroleum Corp.’s Tuscaloosa Marine Shale (TMS) development is continuing, and the company has high hopes for the play. Meanwhile, it has returned to completing wells in the Haynesville Shale in anticipation of higher natural gas prices.

Alaska received nearly $4.5 million in high bids for oil and gas leases in Cook Inlet and received a bid for a geothermal lease on Augustine Island during a series of lease sales on Wednesday.