He cracked the code. That's what folks in the oilpatch say about George Mitchell. In the 1970s and '80s, the country's conventional, big pools of natural gas were tapped out. Drillers looked in new geologic formations, but found themselves stumped.

"We knew the gas was there," Mitchell says. "We didn't know how to get it free." Read more »

The price of oil rose sharply on higher U.S. home prices and hopes of a budget deal in Washington.

U.S. benchmark crude jumped $2.06, or 2.3 percent, to $90.67 per barrel in thin post-Christmas trading Wednesday Dec. 26, 2012 afternoon in New York.

U.S. home prices rose in most major cities in October compared with a year ago, according to a key report. The improvement is adding to economic growth, which generally boosts energy consumption and lifts prices. Read more »

This year was 1 of new records and new questions for the boom in Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling.

Previous doubts about the size of the vast resource were mostly put to rest, as data showed that the Marcellus became the most productive natural gas field in the nation, even though well drilling slowed substantially. Read more »

 A state panel is taking extra time to draft a report on the best practices for hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.
The Maryland Department of the Environment said Monday that the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission expects to put the draft report out for public comment sometime this spring instead of by Dec. 31.
An MDE spokesman says the commission still aims to issue its final report on best practices by Aug. 1.
The panel’s conclusive report on the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing is due a year later, on Aug. 1, 2014. Read more »