Seven Commonwealth Court judges will decide on a constitutional challenge by seven municipalities to portions of Pennsylvania's new law regulating the rapid growth of natural gas exploration.

The panel heard arguments Wednesday June 6, 2012 during a session in which the judges repeatedly challenged lawyers from both sides in the closely watched case. Read more »

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 »