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Oil-rich Permian Basin attracts buyers with resources

Jan 1, 2024
Big companies have been paying billions to acquire smaller competitors — and their drilling rights.
A mural depicting oil drilling adorns a building in Odessa, Texas. The Permian Basin region has helped the U.S. become the world's top oil producer.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The curse of “black gold”

Nov 6, 2023
We’re watching “Killers of the Flower Moon” in November.
Lily Gladstone and Leonardo DiCaprio star in “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Apple TV+

A fraction of oil and gas profits would fund methane emissions cuts, global energy agency says

Aug 7, 2023
IEA advises investing in facilities to reduce the potent greenhouse gas. The U.S. government is already funding such programs.
Methane, a greenhouse gas invisible to the naked eye, is one of the biggest contributors to global warming.
David McNew/Getty Images

In the West Texas oil patch, a boom in drilling has led to a growing number of earthquakes

Dec 28, 2022
After multiple near-record Texas earthquakes, oil and gas regulators say they’re stepping up efforts to reduce quakes triggered by industry activity.
A truck travels through the West Texas oil patch. Earthquakes that have rocked the region have been tied to the area's booming oil industry.
Mitch Borden

Fracking flourishes as era of net-zero carbon looms

Aug 15, 2022
The energy industry is emphasizing the controversial technique over traditional drilling, partly for its shorter timetable.
David McNew/Getty Images

Texas oil and gas industry should temper its job-creation claims, report says

Jul 19, 2022
There’s been a hiring uptick, but "we're only about halfway" to pre-COVID employment numbers, the author of the IEEFA report says.
In the early part of the pandemic, the Texas oil and gas industry shed 20% of its workforce.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

How much has Putin’s war damaged Russia's economy?

May 2, 2022
As sanctions take their toll and Russia's leader writes off Western markets, analysts count the costs for the nation's people and businesses.
As Russia's war on Ukraine continues, ordinary Russians face economic burdens.
Natalia Kolesnikova/AFP via Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

Oil prices soared, then dropped. But gasoline is still expensive. Why?

Mar 15, 2022
A barrel of crude topped $130 last week and now sells for less than $100. Gas prices follow oil quickly on the way up, slowly on the way down.
Though the cost of a barrel of oil has dipped back below $100, consumers aren't feeling much relief at the gas pump yet.
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

There's an oil market crisis even without sanctions on Russian exports

Mar 2, 2022
Brent crude rose above $113 a barrel Wednesday — the highest level in eight years.
Though oil prices have reached the highest levels in eight years, OPEC+ is choosing not to ramp up production.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Do methane leak detection and repair programs reduce emissions? New research suggests yes.

Dec 27, 2021
Methane leaks are notoriously hard to measure, but a new study indicates that specific regulations can go far in reducing emissions.
Methane leaks are notoriously hard to measure, but a new study indicates that regulations can go far in reducing emissions.
Mario Tama/Getty Images