For the first time in more than 25 years, drilling is being conducted in southeast Nebraska to determine how much of a valuable and rare heat-resistant element lies hidden underground.

The drilling that began Thursday night is part of a Canadian mining company's exploration of the site. Quantum Rare Earth Developments is trying to determine whether to build a mine to retrieve niobium and possibly other rare elements from more than 500 feet underground. Read more »

Southwestern Energy Company discovered the economic viability of the Fayetteville Shale and was the first company to drill and successfully produce its natural gas. At December 31, 2010, Southwestern held leases for approximately 915,884 net acres in the Fayetteville Shale play area (367,206 net undeveloped acres, 423,692 net developed acres held by Fayetteville Shale production, 123,442 net developed acres held by conventional production and an additional 1,544 net undeveloped acres in the traditional Fairway). Read more »

Oil is climbing above $110 per barrel as the dollar weakened and the government reported an unexpected drop in U.S. crude supplies.

Benchmark West Texas Intermediate oil for June delivery gained $1.89 at $110.16 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Meanwhile, retail gasoline prices increased slightly to $3.84 per gallon.

Oil rose early in the day as the dollar dropped relative to other major currencies and made crude cheaper for investors holding foreign currency. Read more »

US oil and gas drilling in this year’s first quarter climbed 29% from a year earlier but remained below the first-quarter 2009 level, the American Petroleum Institute said in its latest quarterly well completion report.

An estimated 10,431 oil wells, natural gas wells, and dry holes were completed in the first quarter of this year, down almost 8% from first-quarter 2009, API said. Read more »