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Federal wildlife officials have granted protection to the Gunnison sage grouse, a move that could to bring restrictions on oil and gas drilling and other land uses to preserve the bird's habitat in Colorado and Utah. ... They're related to the greater sage grouse, which is at the center of a separate and larger debate over federal protection across 11 Western states.

I am trying to find the photo taken in the 80's about Teddy's offshore drilling. Funny how I can't find it on google. Any have the link to the pic? Here is the story behind it from Rush: http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/daily/2007/08/03/luke_sissyfag_howell_heflin_womb_to_the_tomb RUSH: What happened was -- this is back in the late eighties, I think -- Senator Kennedy is vacationing off the coast of the south of France and he's got a young nubile, very limber and flexible young woman with him, scantily clad in a nice bikini. We know this because paparazzi were taking pictures from neighboring boats, and the New...

The US drilling rig count declined 12 units to settle at 1,918 rigs working during the week ended Oct. 17, Baker Hughes Inc. reported. BHI’s average US onshore rig count for the third quarter totaled 1,842 units, up 46 from the second quarter and up 133 from third-quarter 2013. The US onshore well count for the third quarter totaled 9,566, up 110 from the second quarter and up 491 from third-quarter 2013. Average US onshore drilling efficiencies dropped to 5.19, primarily caused by fewer wells/rig being generated in the Permian during the quarter, BHI indicated. The Permian accounted for 54%...

Funded by the National Science Foundation and Duke University, a team of scientists at Ohio State and other universities conducted extensive research into the purported link between groundwater pollution and fracking. (The full title of the report, available online, is “Noble Gases Identify the Mechanisms of Fugitive Gas Contamination in Drinking-Water Wells Overlying the Marcellus and Barnett Shales.”) In an examination of 130 wells, the researchers found that, when properly conducted, no groundwater or aquifer pollution resulted from the practice of fracking itself.

The Barnett Shale generates $11.8 billion in gross product per year and 107,650 permanent jobs for North Texas, according to economist Ray Perryman.

President Obama is moving toward opening the Atlantic Ocean to drilling in a major shift in U.S. policy that cuts against the administration's efforts to reduce global warming. Environmental groups applauding the president's pursuit of new power plant rules meant to reduce climate change are now preparing for a major battle over authorizing drilling in the Atlantic, and possibly the Arctic and Pacific oceans. President Obama is moving toward opening the Atlantic Ocean to drilling in a major shift in U.S. policy that cuts against the administration's efforts to reduce global warming. Environmental groups applauding the president's pursuit of new...

Study links Oklahoma earthquake swarm with fracking operations By Hailey Branson-Potts [skip to the last paragraph if you want to skip the nonsense.] Oklahoma ... boom ... recent years: oil and gas production and earthquakes. To many residents, the timing .... Before the oil and gas industry started drilling... rare to feel an earthquake. Today, Oklahoma... second-most seismically active state .... Now ... fresh scientific evidence .... Researchers from Cornell University and the University of Colorado say a large swarm of earthquakes ... caused by ... disposal wells, ... wastewater from drilling operations ... hydraulic fracturing ... deep geological formations.......

China's Massive Disputed Oil Rig Near Vietnam Is Now Drilling ReutersMay 27, 2014, 6:20 AM  A giant Chinese oil rig has finished its first round of drilling in South China Sea waters also claimed by Vietnam and moved to another site in the area, the rig's operator, China Oilfield Services Ltd (COSL), said on Tuesday. In a statement, COSL said exploration would still take place off the Xisha islands, China's name for the disputed Paracel chain, suggesting the rig was not moving far. In early May, the rig was deployed between the Paracel islands and the Vietnamese coast, sparking...

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A major supplier to the oil and gas industry says it will begin disclosing 100 percent of the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing fluid, with no exemptions for trade secrets. The move by Baker Hughes of Houston is a shift for a major firm; it's unclear if others will follow suit. The oil and gas industry has said the chemicals used are disclosed at tens of thousands of wells, but environmental and health groups and government regulators say a loophole that allows companies to hide chemical "trade secrets" has been a major problem. A statement on the...

A Democratic member of Congress is using the government shutdown to pressure the Department of the Interior to prohibit oil and gas exploration on federal land. Energy companies should not be able to use federal lands if those lands are closed to hikers and campers, according to Rep. Raul Grijalva (D., Ariz.), the co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Grijalva started an online petition to demand that Interior Secretary Sally Jewell and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack “stop mining [on] public lands while visitors are locked out.” “Fossil fuel and logging companies shouldn’t have special access to our federal lands while...

WASHINGTON (AP) — Drilling and fracking for natural gas don't seem to spew immense amounts of the greenhouse gas methane into the air, as has been feared, a new study says. The findings bolster a big selling point for natural gas, that it's not as bad for global warming as coal. And they undercut a major environmental argument against fracking, a process that breaks apart deep rock to recover more gas. The study, mostly funded by energy interests, doesn't address other fracking concerns about potential air and water pollution. The results, which generally agree with earlier Environmental Protection Agency estimates,...

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said that fracking in the US has lessened demand for their oil, and that they need to begin to find other income sources. In a letter to oil minister, Ali al Naimi and other top government officials, Alwaleed said that fracking was responsible for the declining demand for oil from OPEC. Alwaleed recommends that the oil rich country, should diversify immediately before the impact gets to be out of hand. He says that the Saudi's dependence on oil income is, "a truth that has really become a source of worry for many".

BASALT, Colo. — Federal agents with the FBI, IRS and Bureau of Land Management have served a search warrant at the offices of Crystal River Oil and Gas in Basalt. IRS special agent Karen Gurgel said the action on Tuesday is part of a criminal investigation, but she did not elaborate. Crystal River Oil and Gas operates 300 oil-and-gas producing wells in six states, with a focus on Texas and Oklahoma. It also has offices in California.

Oil field services giant Baker Hughes for decades has been the go-to source for the number of drilling rigs operating in a given week or month. Now, it is adding a count of new U.S. onshore oil and gas wells to its data set. The Houston-based company said Thursday that the quarterly well count — when combined with the rig count — will allow the industry to track the efficiency of operations in various onshore basins. For instance, current data shows that in the Williston, Marcellus, and Eagle Ford plays, there are about 20 percent more wells per rig compared...

Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Thursday that the White House won’t allow drilling in the Atlantic Ocean while House Republicans are putting the finishing touches on legislation to do so. “We’ve done a five-year plan — it doesn’t include the Atlantic. I don’t expect to go back on that,” Jewell told reporters Thursday after a Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing. President Obama’s five-year drilling plan, which runs through 2017, doesn’t offer any lease sales in Atlantic or Pacific coastal waters. A 2010 draft of his plan included Atlantic waters, but Obama pulled back on it following the Gulf...

Over the past five years, technology has improved the productivity of the typical oil or gas rig on America’s shale fields between 200 and 300 percent.

Don’t expect the energy boom in Montana and the Dakotas to end anytime soon. According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), the formations below these three states hold double the amount of oil and triple the amount of natural gas than was believed five years ago. National Journal reports: The formations, called Bakken and Three Forks, span much of western North Dakota, the northern tip of South Dakota and the northeastern tip of Montana. The last time the United States Geological Survey assessed this area for its oil and gas reserves was in 2008. But that assessment did not...

Well, well, well, so Obama has embarked on his third war in little more than two years. You've got to admit that "flexibility" is his middle name. Or at least one of his middle names: Barack Barry Hussein "Flexibility" Soetoro Obama, Jr. Those are the names we know so far, but The Donald thinks there might be more. Whodda thunk? Here we are barely into the first week of what started out as a "No-Fly Zone" and it is now turning out to be Air Al Qaida. Ten years ago, AQ had a mere four civilian airplanes to crash into...

Sen. David Vitter (R-La.) wants answers from the US taxpayer supported Export-Import bank about a $2 billion loan to Brazil for offshore drilling. Vitter’s home state is suffering under a moratorium imposed by President Barack Obama. Vitter said Louisianians “are frustrated” and he wants to know “why permitting domestically is nearly stalled…” Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) had questions about ExIM—nine years ago when he asked Congress to reject the reauthorization of ExIm for “economic, constitutional and moral reasons.” Vitter sent a letter to Fred Hochberg, Ex-Im president, on March 17. Vitter asked Hochberg to identify all US companies that have...

Kerry Has Investments in Companies Accused of Violating Iran Sanctions Daniel Halper December 21, 2012 12:59 PM John Kerry, who will be nominated later today to be the next secretary of state, is the richest member of the U.S. Senate. His estimated net worth is, at minimum, $198.65 million, according to disclosure forms. Kerry's disclosure forms also reveal that he has invested in companies accused of doing business with Iran. One of the companies Kerry is invested in is called Petroleo Brasileiro SA Petrobras (Petrobras), it's a Brazilian-based oil and gas corporation. Disclosure forms reveal that Kerry has between $150,000...