HOUSTON - The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. increased by eight this week to 958. A year ago, just 463 rigs were active. Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 766 rigs sought oil and 192 explored for natural gas this week. Among major oil- and gas-producing states, New Mexico gained four rigs, Oklahoma increased by three and Louisiana, Ohio, West Virginia and Wyoming each gained one. Texas declined by one [Read more]

LOS ANGELES - The fight over reopening a massive gas storage facility that has been crippled since a major blowout is heading to court. Lawyers for Los Angeles County will ask a Superior Court judge Friday to stop Southern California Gas Co. from restarting operations at Aliso Canyon because of earthquake risks. The measure comes just a week after state regulators gave approval to pump gas into underground storage wells after an overhaul and extensive testing. The storage [Read more]

BISMARCK, N.D. - American Indian tribes trying to shut down the Dakota Access oil pipeline are objecting to the possible intervention of national energy and manufacturing trade groups in the legal dispute. Attorneys for the Standing Rock and Cheyenne River Sioux tribes say in court documents filed Tuesday that the arguments of the trade groups are too lengthy and duplicate those already made by Texas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners and the Army Corps of Engineers, the [Read more]

HOUSTON - The number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. decreased by two this week to 950. A year ago, just 462 rigs were active. Houston oilfield services company Baker Hughes said Friday that 764 rigs sought oil and 186 explored for natural gas this week. Among major oil- and gas-producing states, Louisiana gained four rigs, California increased by two and North Dakota and Utah each gained one. Oklahoma and Texas each declined by three, New [Read more]

BASTROP, Texas - Authorities say about 50,000 gallons (189,000 litres) of crude oil spilled after a contractor accidentally cut an underground pipeline in Central Texas. A spokesman for Magellan Midstream Partners, Bruce Heine (hyn), says the contractor was conducting maintenance Thursday morning when he struck a fitting on the Longhorn pipeline system, causing the spill at the rural site near Bastrop, about 30 miles (50 kilometres) east of Austin. Heine says the spill leaked [Read more]

MEXICO CITY - A consortium of Mexican and foreign private companies says a well drilled in shallow water has found between 1.4 and 2 billion barrels of crude oil equivalent in the Gulf of Mexico. Houston, Texas-based Talos Energy LLC says it has a 35 per cent interest, along Sierra Oil and Gas and Premier Oil Plc. Talos said in a statement Wednesday the well started at a depth of 545 feet (166 metres) below the Gulf surface and reached a depth of 11,100 feet (3,383 metres) [Read more]

PARIS - An oil tanker and a large cargo ship collided Saturday in the Dover Strait between Britain and France but no casualties or pollution from the accident have been reported so far, French authorities say. The local Maritime Prefecture said the collision between the two Honk Kong-flagged vessels took place overnight 20 miles (32 kilometres) off the northern French port of Dunkirk, in the British zone of the strait between the English Channel and the North Sea, one of the world's [Read more]