U.S. drilling rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. dropped three this week to 1,980, according to Baker Hughes.

There were 1,386 rigs seeking oil and 588 looking for natural gas, plus six miscellaneous. A year ago there were 1,854.

In the Barnett Shale, there were 46 active rigs, down from 48 a year ago. For the first time in years, Tarrant County was not the busiest county, as Wise County's nine rigs topped Tarrant and Montague counties, each with seven rigs, and Jack County had six.

The New Brunswick government is proposing 116 different changes to the regulatory framework that oversees the oil and gas industry and in particular the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing.

Natural Resources Minister Bruce Northrup and Environment Minister Bruce Fitch unveiled the changes to the rules governing the oil and gas industry in the legislative assembly on Thursday May 31, 2012. Read more »

The price of oil dropped below $88 a barrel Wednesday May 30, 2012, hitting a seven-month low, as fiscal worries in Europe sparked a broad sell-off across markets.
 

In New York, oil prices finished at $87.49 a barrel, down $2.94, or 3.2%, from Tuesday. It was the lowest closing price for crude since Oct. 21. Read more »

When one thinks of the Fayetteville shale, one company name comes to mind immediately – Southwestern Energy. Houston-based Southwestern was the earliest entrant in the Fayetteville shale play and today still has nearly three times the natural gas production of its nearest competitor in the formation. The Fayetteville shale is located on the Arkansas side of the Arkoma Basin and cuts a swath through the north-central part of the state east to the Mississippi River. Read more »