You don’t have to be a Pennsylvania farmer (or a Texas rancher) to get in on the shale boom. Plenty of publicly traded stocks let you do just that. But before investing, be aware of the perils: the political risk created by the controversy over fracking, the chance that production estimates may be overstated (something that the Securities and Exchange Commission is reportedly looking into), and the possibility that natural gas prices will stay at current low levels. Read more »

U.S. active rigs rose by 22 to 2,012 this week, up 20 percent from a year ago and the highest in more than three years, according to Baker Hughes. Oil rigs were up 10 to 1,070 and natural gas rigs added 12 to 935. Texas gained eight rigs to 912, and Oklahoma gained six to 202. In the Barnett Shale, active rigs fell by eight to 56, according to RigData. Leading counties were Tarrant, 20 rigs; Wise, seven; and Denton and Johnson, each with six.

Encana Corp said it agreed to sell some natural gas midstream assets in Colorado for about $590 million and would likely notch more sales in Canada as it looks to cash in on the strong demand for such assets in North America.

Encana, Canada's largest gas producer, said it is on track to meet or exceed the planned sale of $1-$2 billion worth of non-core assets as it cuts back on spending to cope with weak natural gas prices. Read more »

Visiting Rotary Club speaker Ed Ireland provided an overview of the Barnett Shale and drilling techniques during Wednesday’s meeting.

Ireland, executive director of the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council, said the Fort Worth-area shale is still the largest-producing natural gas field in America, though the Eagle-Ford Shale of South Texas and the Marcellus Shale, still in development in Pennsylvania,, may soon overtake it.

But Ireland said much of the technology oil and natural gas drillers will employ in future endeavors began in the North Texas development. Read more »