Voters in Denton, Texas approved a ban on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, on Tuesday, making the city the first in Texas to outlaw the controversial gas-extraction process. The ban is likely to garner legal challenges, but, for now, supporters celebrating the landmark vote in a state famous for oil and gas development. “Denton, Texas is where hydraulic ...

Paul Burkhardt from BLOOMBERG reports: South Africa’s oil-industry regulator asked companies including Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) and Chevron Corp. to remove references to fracking from their applications for shale-gas projects in the Karoo region so they can be processed while relevant legislation is prepared.   “The companies involved have been requested to revise their environmental management ...

Skaliegas: Staat wil 20% vat Deur Johan Eybers Sondag 02 November 2014 1:10 vm. RAPPORT, Sunday, Nov. 2, 2014 By Johan Eybers Sunday, November 2nd, 2014 1:10 am. Exploration in the Karoo for shale gas faces another obstacle because big oil companies are unhappy with the suggestions that the 20% of their production rights would automatically go to ...

Shell’s Chief Financial Officer, Simon Henry confirmed that the company is in “no hurry” to develop assets held in the Permian Basin. Read more…

Sharron Kelly writes in the DESMOGBLOG.COM If you want to see the future of the shale industry — what today’s drilling rush will leave behind — come to Bradford, Pennsylvania. A small city, it was home to one of America’s first energy booms, producing over three quarters of the world’s oil in 1877. A wooden oil rig towering ...