Latest Oil Gas Headlines

All the headlines from our Oil Gas Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Oklahoma Supreme Court to Hear Oil Company/Earthquake Lawsuit

Jan 26 2015 // Oklahoma’s highest court has decided to hear a lawsuit that alleges two oil companies are liable for injuries a Prague woman suffered during a 2011 earthquake.The lawsuit by Sandra Ladra of Prague is among dozens of...

BP Argues for Lower Oil Spill Penalty

Jan 21 2015 // Last week’s ruling that BP Plc’s Macondo well dumped less oil into the Gulf of Mexico than the U.S. government claimed may trigger a settlement before a decision on the amount it must pay after a trial set to...

Report: Storage Tanks Pose Risks to West Virginia Water

Jan 21 2015 // Drinking water sources in West Virginia are at risk of contamination from more than 20,000 aboveground storage tanks that are located beyond an area where extra safeguards are required, according to a report released last...

Kentucky Enters into Fracking Debate

Jan 21 2015 // The debate over hydraulic fracturing, a technique used to drill oil and natural gas wells, may be coming to Kentucky.The Lexington Herald-Leader reports there’s been increased interest among oil and gas companies in...

Experts: Steady Rate of Earthquakes in Oklahoma in 2014

Jan 21 2015 // After increasing rapidly over the past three years, the pace of earthquakes in Oklahoma held steady in 2014 at a rate higher than California and far higher than the historic average in Oklahoma.Oklahoma experienced 567...

Judge Trims BP Oil Spill Fine to $13.7B

Jan 15 2015 // BP Plc will face a maximum fine of $13.7 billion under the Clean Water Act for its Gulf of Mexico oil spill, several billion less than feared, after a judge found on Thursday the size of the spill was smaller than the U.S....

Attempts Made to Disguise Iranian Oil Near U.A.E., Say Marine Insurers

Jan 15 2015 // Attempts are being made near the United Arab Emirates’ coast to disguise oil from Iran so that it can be sold to countries that are blocked by the U.S. from purchasing such shipments, global ship insurers...

Louisiana Governor Appeals ‘Big Oil’ Suit to State Supreme Court

Jan 12 2015 // The fight over whether oil companies may be sued over damage to Louisiana’s coastal marshes has been appealed to the state’s high court.The Times-Picayune reports Gov. Bobby Jindal’s administration asked...

Buffett’s BNSF Railway Considering Safer Oil Tank Cars

Jan 11 2015 // BNSF Railway Co., the railroad owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., is reconsidering a plan to buy 5,000 oil-tank cars built to new safety standards after some customers voiced concern about the...

BP, Anadarko Lose Appeal Over Gulf Oil Spill Fines

Jan 11 2015 // BP Plc and Anadarko Petroleum Corp. narrowly failed to persuade a U.S appeals court to reconsider its 2014 ruling that they could face civil fines under federal pollution laws over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.By a...

Environmental Groups Sue EPA to Force Fracking Chemicals Disclosure

Jan 8 2015 // A coalition of advocacy groups sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for public access to information on toxic chemicals released by the energy industry through hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and other forms of...

Exxon Mobil Seeks to Bar Release of Files in Arkansas Pipeline Case

Jan 2 2015 // Exxon Mobil said it shouldn’t have to release any further information on a proposed but abandoned pipeline intended to run alongside the Pegasus pipeline that ruptured in 2013 in central Arkansas.The company is...

Mississippi Man Faces Prison for Lying to Get Oil Spill Funds

Dec 30 2014 // A Mississippi man has pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges of lying about his past employment to get $25,800 in oil-spill recovery money.The Sun Herald reported that Shawn Albert Townsel will be sentenced March 26....

2 Killed, 3 Hurt in Explosion at Oklahoma Oil Rig

Dec 22 2014 // An explosion and fire at a southeastern Oklahoma oil rig early on Dec. 19 killed two workers and injured three others, two of them critically.The explosion occurred around 1 a.m. on the deck of a rig about 2 miles west of...

U.S. Seeks Up to $18B in Fines From BP Over Gulf Oil Spill

Dec 22 2014 // The government wants BP Plc to pay $16 billion to $18 billion in water-pollution fines for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history while seeking more than $1 billion from the co-owner of the blown-out well that caused...

Louisiana Reopens Oil Spill Affected Gulf Waters for Commercial Fishing

Dec 16 2014 // Commercial fishermen are once again harvesting Gulf seafood off the coasts of Elmer’s and Grand Terre islands, an area that’s been closed due to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.On Dec. 10, Louisiana...

Enbridge Settles Michigan Oil Spill Class-Action Lawsuit

Dec 12 2014 // The Canadian company responsible for a 2010 oil spill in southwestern Michigan has agreed to pay about $6.8 million to settle a class-action lawsuit.A federal judge must still approve the settlement reached last week by...

BP Appeals Gross Negligence Ruling That Triggers Fines

Dec 11 2014 // BP Plc challenged a federal judge’s ruling that the company’s exploration unit acted with gross negligence in causing the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, a decision that exposed the U.K.-based energy company to...

Companies May Need to Disclose Fossil-Fuel Exposure: UK Energy Secretary

Dec 11 2014 // U.K. Energy Secretary Ed Davey called for a debate on forcing companies to disclose their exposure to fossil fuels so that investors know the risks they face as cleaner forms of energy are required.“There’s a...

High Cost Hinders Progress of Carbon Capture As Climate-Change Fix

Dec 9 2014 // Scientists know only two credible ways to prevent temperatures from rising to dangerous levels: stop burning fossil fuels or capture and bury the carbon dioxide byproduct before it gets into the atmosphere.The second idea,...