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Lower prices for oil and natural gas liquids have led to softening in drilling services markets and caused Pioneer Drilling Co. to dial down its operations guidance for the second quarter, the company said Monday. However, the Permian Basin of West Texas and the Bakken Shale offer some bright spots.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) regulators are considering plans to sell water to operators to use for horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking), as well as possibly lease land in portions of the Marcellus and Utica shales.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) are close to issuing a final rule further defining the terms “swap” and “securities-based swap,” which would trigger a rule establishing limits on speculative positions in the futures and swaps markets, the CFTC chief told Senate members last week.

BP plc, still coming to terms with the devastating Macondo well blowout two years ago, said Tuesday it is selling one Gulf of Mexico (GOM) field and stakes in four others.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced Friday that 20 water wells in Dimock Township, PA — collectively its second round of water quality testing — did not reveal any signs of contamination from natural gas drilling.

India’s state-owned Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd. (ONGC) announced Friday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with ConocoPhillips to explore and develop shale and deepwater resources in India and North America.

Chemical industry executives are believers in the North American shale gas miracle, and they’re investing accordingly. But there’s still time to blow it with bad policies and regulation, speakers at a Houston industry conference said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said Thursday initial test results of water samples taken from 11 households in the Carter Road/Meshoppen Creek Road area of Dimock Township, PA, do not indicate any levels of contamination from natural gas drilling.

Hopeful that it is seeing the final months of a moratorium on high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) tick away in New York, Norse Energy Corp. ASA — a company that, like many others, has suffered through years of uncertainty at the hands of the delay — is positioning itself to hit the ground running in the Marcellus and Utica shales.