News - Category Archives: Energy

At the end of March, West Virginia’s Senate voted to authorize natural gas producers to drill when three fourths of those with royalty rights agree and a reasonable effort has been made to negotiate with the remaining owners of a property. The bill was approved with a vote of 19 to 14. The West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association has commented that the law reflects current technology and that the state of West Virginia …

President Trump recently gave his first address to a joint session of Congress. During his speech, he specifically mentioned how the coal industry would benefit from his promise to remove many types of regulations. Trump has even proposed a new rule that would require two old regulations to be eliminated for every one new regulation passed. This proposed reduction in regulations come at a time when many individuals argue that Environmental Protection Agency regulations are …

The recent spike in natural gas prices may have helped numerous drilling companies avoid disaster. Often, natural gas companies involved in drilling in the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia lease mineral rights from landowners and sign contracts to provide natural gas to third parties. When natural gas prices are low, drilling companies may have difficulty seeing profit due to price suppression. Yet those companies may feel compelled to continue drilling and supplying natural gas based …

A recent Baker Hughes report stated that it expects continued investment and expanding exploration of oil and gas fields. While the overall industry is approximately 40% leaner than it was in 2014, it has recently expanded. According to the report, the increasing price of crude oil, notably that it recently topped $50 per barrel, leads the charge toward expanding oil and gas drilling and exploration. The continued and expanding investment will likely trigger an increase …

In 2012, the oil and gas industry created more than 1.2 million jobs. Industry experts expect this trend to continue to more than 2.3 million jobs in 2035. Those experts also expect revenues to exceed $1.9 trillion during that time. The development of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, technology, which is the extraction process for natural gas under shale formations, has allowed the oil and gas industry to experience this exponential growth. In concert with this …