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The skyline of Midland, TX (pop. 114,000) has a long way to go before it can rival those of Houston or Dallas, but the rebirth of the Permian Basin has sparked plans to develop what would be the sixth-tallest building in the Lone Star State.

Driven by the Bakken Shale play, North Dakota’s oil and natural gas production continued to soar in May, but well completion rates were slowing amid a continued boom for drilling new wells, according to the latest monthly report from the state’s Department of Mineral Resources (DMR).

Temperatures across almost all of the United States will average warmer than normal over the next three months, though the Southeast and Ohio Valley may get some cooler breaks, according to a seasonal forecast released last week by Weather Services International (WSI).

Colorado regulators and exploration and production companies (E&P) are working together to advance a new groundwater monitoring program that would monitor data at existing drilling sites and drinking water wells in one of the most heavily drilled areas of the state, Weld County.

There are familiar names, matched to familiar brands, on the latest compilation of the world’s wealthiest individuals. At No. 1 is Mexico’s Carlos Slim Helu, 73, whose net worth of $73 billion was made from the telecommunications industry. Microsoft founder Bill Gates, 57, with $67 billion is in second place, followed by Spain’s Amancio Ortega, 77, with $57 billion. Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s Warren Buffett, 82, has $53.5 billion for the No. 4 position, while Oracle Inc.’s Larry Ellison, 68, rounds out the top five with an estimated net worth of $43 billion.

The Kentucky Oil and Gas Association’s (KOGA) first comprehensive research of the economic impact of the oil and gas industry found that the state had 14,632 producing natural gas wells in 2011 and produced more than 3 million bbl of oil in 2012, but the number of horizontal well permits issued has declined each year since 2009.

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett defended the decision to enact an impact fee, rather than a severance tax, on oil and gas drilling, and he said there was nothing new to report on a proposed ethane cracker in the western part of the state.

XTO Energy Inc.’s natural gas liquids (NGL) recovery facility in Butler County, PA, has entered service processing wet gas from Marcellus and Utica shale drilling in southwestern Pennsylvania.

In its reluctance to share its natural gas resources with the world, the United States is operating in a scarcity mode, which is at odds with today’s abundance, Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski said Tuesday.