The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) praised the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) this week for its work to protect underground drinking water sources, citing the efforts made in the RRC’s Underground Injection Control (UIC) program. The commendation was part of EPA’s Fiscal Year 2016 End-of-Year evaluation of the Texas UIC program, the conclusions of which were presented by Lori Wrotenbery, Director of the Oil and Gas Division for RRC, at a Commission open meeting this week.

Kristin Gordon | Corridor News | November 28, 2017

In 2016, U.S. coal production decreased 18.8 percent year-over-year to 728.4 million short tons, the lowest annual production level since 1979, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

Rye Druzin | San Antion Express-News | November 27, 2017

Texas crude oil is being shipped worldwide at ever higher rates as foreign markets get used to the taste of light sweet crude.  Port Corpus Christi, a major refining center on the U.S. Gulf Coast, is now becoming a major hub for U.S. crude oil exports.

Beaumont Enterprise | November 13, 2017

FORT YATES, N.D. (AP) — Finances at a casino run by the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe are slowly improving, after facing a $6 million shortfall during the peak of the Dakota Access oil pipeline protest in February.

Texas is the most attractive area for oil and gas exploration and production investment according to the latest annual Fraser Institute Global Petroleum Survey. Compiling responses from oil and gas executives and managers around the world, Texas received a perfect rating of 100.00, an improvement from previous years and allowing it to dethrone Oklahoma as the most desirable region in the world for oil and gas investment

A recent report from the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) claims that venting and flaring in West Texas’ Permian Basin is taking place at much higher rates than reported, but recent data show that oil and natural gas operators are already effectively limiting methane emissions in the region – even as production has increased.

Tom DiChristopher | CNBC | November 20, 2017

• Nebraska regulators on Monday approved a route for the Keystone XL pipeline, clearing a major hurdle for the nearly 1,200-mile project.
• The project faced opposition from some Nebraska landowners and environmentalists.
• The Obama administration blocked the project, but President Donald Trump overturned the decision in the opening days of his presidency.

Grant Smith | Bloomberg Markets | November 14, 2017

The U.S. will be a dominant force in global oil and gas markets for many years to come as the shale boom becomes the biggest supply surge in history, the International Energy Agency predicted.