Increasing

Data just coming in from 2011 shows that investment in U.S. shale oil and gas drilling nearly doubled over 2010 levels, which vaulted shale plays to account for nearly one-quarter of all wells drilled in the United States, according to the American Petroleum Institute (API).

U.S. exports to Canada set their sixth record high in as many years, increasing by 3.6% at the same time Canadian exports to the United States continued on a downward trajectory, dropping by 4.7%.

U.S. exports to Canada set their sixth record high in as many years, increasing by 3.6% at the same time Canadian exports to the United States continued on a downward trajectory, dropping by 4.7%.

Devon Energy Corp. is increasing its oil-directed drilling this year across the Permian Basin and in the emerging Mississippian Lime as it continues its transition from a natural gas heavyweight, CEO John Richels said Tuesday.

With increasing national news media and regulatory attention and despite ExxonMobil’s assurances that everything is under control at a plugged oil spill near Little Rock, AR, hardened opposition and skeptical stakeholders in the high-stakes business of finding markets for Western Canada’s heavy tar sands-based crude oil are raising red flags, as evidenced in California this week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) has issued a permit to Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. LLC (TGP) for its Northeast Upgrade Project after determining that it is in the public interest and would not adversely affect the environment.

President Obama has signed an executive order to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical U.S. infrastructure by increasing information sharing and by jointly developing and implementing with industry partners a framework of cybersecurity practices. “Proactive and coordinated efforts are necessary for us to strengthen and maintain secure, functioning and resilient critical infrastructure — including the assets, networks and systems that are vital to public confidence and the nation’s safety, prosperity and well-being,” according to a White House statement. “This endeavor is a shared responsibility among the federal, state, local, tribal and territorial entities, and public and private owners and operators of critical infrastructure.” The executive order expands to other sectors the voluntary Enhanced Cybersecurity Services program, an information sharing program already in use by the Department of Defense, enabling near real-time sharing of cyber threat information. The order also requires federal agencies to produce and share unclassified reports of threats to U.S. companies and directs the National Institute of Standards and Technology to lead the development of a framework of cybersecurity practices to reduce cyber risks to critical infrastructure. It calls for a review of existing cybersecurity regulation and includes private and civil liberties protections, the White House said.

President Obama on Tuesday signed an executive order to strengthen the cybersecurity of critical U.S. infrastructure by increasing information sharing and by jointly developing and implementing with industry partners a framework of cybersecurity practices.

Texas lawmakers on Wednesday gained some insight into where an increasing amount of money in the Lone Star State comes from: the Eagle Ford Shale oil and gas patch. The state is producing more oil than it has in the last 25 years, thanks in large part to the unconventional play in South Texas.