The number of drill rigs operating in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale may be declining, but production keeps going up.

Natural-gas output increased robustly during the first half of this year, according to state Department of Environmental Protection data. And industry observers say the output will continue to rise because so many wells are waiting to be connected to pipelines. Read more »

The city of Arlington will mail out the first round of bills Monday Oct. 1, 2012 to natural gas drillers, who will begin paying a $2,397 annual fee per well to fund a new emergency preparedness and response program.

Arlington is the first city in the Barnett Shale to launch such a program, designed to help firefighters better prevent and respond to natural gas releases and other problems. Read more »

Worries about weaker economic growth dragged down oil prices Monday Sept 24, 2012.

Oil has now fallen five of the last six trading days. It fell more than 6 percent last week.

Benchmark crude fell 96 cents, or 1 percent, to finish at $91.93 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices for other petroleum products dropped, too.

In London, Brent crude dropped $1.61 at $109.81 on the ICE Futures exchange. Read more »

Quantum Energy Partners , a leading energy private equity firm, is pleased to announce the formation of Vitruvian Exploration II, LLC  with industry veteran Richard Lane. Supported by a $250 million equity commitment from Quantum, Vitruvian II will pursue a multi-faceted strategy to build a diversified portfolio of high quality, emerging and undeveloped oil and gas assets in North American unconventional resource plays. Read more »