Following a rise in popularity in the oil and gas upstream sector in 2010, joint venture agreements played a dominant role as a source of low cost funding in 2011—with unconventional resources drawing the most attention, noted analyst at Stifel Nicolaus.

NES Global Talent, a specialist in the oil and gas recruitment sector, expects companies to take on extra staff in 2012 as new projects get sanctioned.

A majority of Americans think developing natural gas by tapping shale formations offers greater rewards than it does risks, including those associated with hydraulic fracturing, according to a survey conducted by the Deloitte Center for Energy Solutions.

Deloitte MarketPoint LLC (DMP) conducted an independent assessment of the potential economic impacts of LNG exports from the United States. 

Initial drilling in the Utica is still centered around eastern Ohio, in the wet gas window, but activity could push westward as the oily window is better defined, noted Christopher Perry, the Energy Group Supervisor of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources’ Division of Geological Survey in a conference call hosted by Stifel Nicolaus last week.

The US Department of Energy’s Office of Fossil Energy has selected six new natural gas and oil research projects aimed at reducing risks and enhancing the environmental performance of drilling in ultra-deepwater settings.

Chip Yost, vice president for energy and resources policy for the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), issued a statement on Oct. 26 urging the Obama Administration to move forward as soon as possible on the decision to approve the Keystone XL Pipeline Project, which will transport crude oil from Canada to refineries along the US Gulf Coast in Texas.

Three permits for shale gas exploration in southwestern France were revoked by the French government, Ecology Minister Nathalie Koscisko-Morizet told Agence France-Presse in an article published October 3.