Ohio on Tuesday May 24, 2011 moved a step closer to opening its state parks to drilling for natural gas and oil.

Along party lines, the House Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee voted 12-7 to approve House Bill 133, which would open about 174,000 acres at Ohio's 75 state parks to drilling.

A full vote in the Republican-controlled House could come today Friday May 27, 2011.

Republicans on the committee rejected 16 attempts by the minority Democrats to limited drilling on state land or to add protections. Read more »

Senators from North Texas helped defeat efforts Wednesday May 25, 2011 to water down legislation that would force the disclosure of natural gas drilling chemicals.

Lawmakers who want mandatory disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing thought they'd reached a solid agreement with citizens and industry. The House had passed a bill that Republican Troy Fraser of Horseshoe Bay agreed to sponsor in the Senate calling the disclosure measure a model for the rest of the country. Read more »

Oil climbed Wednesday May 25, 2011 as the dollar weakened against other major currencies. Gas pump prices are still sliding across the country.

A weaker dollar tends to prop up oil and other commodities that are priced in U.S. currency. As the greenback lost ground during the trading session, crude became more affordable for investors holding foreign currency. So the price of oil rose. Read more »

There are a variety of reasons to sell an oil and gas royalty. We have found that most of our customers wish to sell their royalties because they need cash for an unexpected life issue or they recently inherited a royalty from a family member and would prefer a lump sum of cash instead of small checks over a period of time.

Below is a list of reasons people sell oil and gas royalties: Read more »