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A state district judge in New Mexico Tuesday handed the state’s oil/gas industry an early new year’s present, putting a halt to legal appeals of ongoing industry efforts to revise rules for handling drilling and production waste, the so-called “pit rule.” An Oil Conservation Commission hearing on the industry efforts is now scheduled for Jan. 23 in Santa Fe.

Unconventional oil and natural gas resources are an increasingly bigger piece of the pie for domestic energy companies, according to a new survey.

Big rig truckers and fleet operators contemplating the purchase of a natural gas-fueled rig have several things to consider. One is the availability of fuel. Compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG) don’t share the same availability characteristics, according to Kenworth Truck Co.’s Andy Douglas, national sales manager for specialty markets.

Two environmental groups in California have sued the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to prevent the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the Monterey Shale play in north-central parts of the state.

Quicksilver Resources Inc. set another production record in the second quarter and rebounded from a 1Q2011 net loss with net income of $109 million (61 cents/share) in 2Q2011. Production in the Barnett Shale, which has been a primary driver of the company’s recent growth, is expected to ramp up through at least the end of the year.

Rex Energy Corp. is joining the ranks of companies pursuing the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio. The State College, PA-based company recently acquired 11,000 net acres in Carroll County, OH, for an estimated $40 million and plans to continue acquiring acreage in preparation for a drilling program in 2012.

There are more than oil/gas roughnecks benefiting from the growing boom in the Marcellus shale play; Pennsylvania banks are positioning themselves to share in the rewards, according to a report published in late June by an Arlington, VA-based investment bank, FBR Capital Markets.

A Pennsylvania state lawmaker wants to form a cooperative so that local municipalities can share ideas and resources as they manage development of the Marcellus Shale.

ExxonMobil Corp. regained the top spot in a ranking of the 50 largest listed energy companies in 2010, lifted by its buyout of XTO Energy Inc. and a 7% gain in share price growth, according to the PFC Energy 50 annual ranking.