Oil prices slipped closer to $106 a barrel Monday March 26, 2012 as investors weighed concerns over global economic growth against possible disruptions in crude supplies due to an international standoff over Iran's nuclear program.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for May delivery was down 28 cents to $106.59 at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.52 to $106.87 per barrel in New York on Friday. Read more »

After holding five public meetings in January and February on saltwater disposal wells, the City Council appeared divided Tuesday March 20,2012 over whether to lift the moratorium on the wells or to permanently ban them.

Briefing the council, Rick Trice, assistant director of planning and development, laid out options including moving forward with a hearing, extending or lifting the moratorium, and prohibiting the wells. The council opted for the hearing, but there was no consensus. Read more »

Oil prices are climbing near $108 per barrel as optimism grows about a strengthening global economy.

A private survey of the U.S. homebuilding industry on Monday March 19, 2012 found that companies are increasingly hopeful that home sales will rise in coming months. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde also said over the weekend that the global economy has "stepped back from the brink."

The rise in oil also follows last week's rally on Wall Street. Read more »

Data from the state show that many counties don't have any gas drilling wells tapping into the gas-rich Marcellus Shale formation and may never have any despite the proliferation of them elsewhere.

U.S. Geological Survey maps indicate the Marcellus Shale, a rock formation thousands of feet underground in large parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia, doesn't exist in the heavily populated southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. Read more »