Devon Energy, the largest producer in North Texas’ Barnett Shale, has lots of drilling ahead of it in the natural gas play, company Executive Chairman Larry Nichols said today.

“We have at least 7,500 undrilled locations,” said Nichols, who stepped down last year as Devon’s CEO after 30 years in the job.
Devon plans to keep about a dozen drilling rigs busy in the Barnett this year and will drill perhaps 325 wells, Nichols said. Read more »

Oil prices fell to near $104 a barrel Wednesday March 30, 2011 after a report showed U.S. crude supplies rose more than expected last week, suggesting rising fuel costs may be crimping demand.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for May delivery was down 47 cents to $104.32 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 81 cents to settle at $104.79 on Tuesday March 29, 2011.

In London, Brent crude was down 38 cents at $114.78 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange. Read more »

The benefits of Barnett Shale natural gas production to its 24 North Texas host counties are often cited and easily appreciated. It's hard for anyone not to like money in their pockets and thousands of jobs for the local economy.

Less appreciated is the potential for air pollution, pipeline hazards and groundwater contamination that these wells bring, not to mention the temporary discomforts of noise and truck traffic during the drilling phase. Read more »

Oil prices are sliding after Libyan rebels recaptured oil ports and promised to resume exports. Much of Libya's oil exports go to Europe.

Benchmark crude had jumped 24 percent since mid- February as fighting in Libya squeezed off oil shipments that previously supplied nearly 2 percent of the world's oil.

How quickly the rebels could resume exports is unclear, as is who would risk buying the oil. The news was still enough to drop oil by $1.38 to $104.04 per barrel in morning trading, today March 28, 2011, on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Read more »