Barnett Shale

Oil prices close above $100, hit two-week high

Oil futures prices hit a two-week high in closing above $100 a barrel today in futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

--Jack Z. Smith

SolarCity gets bank loan for $1 billion project to put solar rooftops on U.S. military housing

California-based SolarCity, which lost a U.S. loan guarantee in the wake of Solyndra's bankruptcy, will move forward on a $1 billion solar rooftop project for military housing with financing from Bank of America Corp.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Greenland oil project a $600 million bust

An ambitious Arctic drilling program by Edinburgh, Scotland-based Cairn Energy Plc off the coast of Greenland has been a $600 million bust.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Luminant: EPA's new pollution rule still flawed

Dallas-based electricity generator Luminant, in filings with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, says a new rule to curb power-plant emissions still has "fundamental flaws" and leaves the company "exposed to irreparable harm."

Luminant said modifications that EPA made to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule in October are insufficient.

In addition, Luminant CEO David Campbell, in a Nov. 16 memo to employees, said unless the rule "is stayed or significantly revised," the generator will have to comply with the regulation by idling its two Monticello coal-fired units and related lignite mining operations in East Texas.

The moves would result in about 500 layoffs, Luminant earlier said.

Click here for the Star-Telegram report.

Explosion occurs at San Antonio refinery

An explosion has occurred at a refinery on San Antonio's South Side.

Click here for the San Antonio Express-News report and video from television station WOAI.

--Jack Z. Smith

Federal funding for renewable energy to drop

U.S. refinancing for renewable energy will drop next year after the expiration of a grant program that backed at least $32.9 billion in projects, one of President Barack Obama's most-ambitious efforts to support the industry.

Click here for the Bloomberg News report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Report: U.S. demand for "fracking" chemicals will continue surging through at least 2015

U.S. demand for chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of oil and natural gas wells will be on a sustained rise through at least 2015, according to a report by an industry research firm.

Click here for the Houston Chronicle report

--Jack Z. Smith

Private money revives plan for putting solar panels on 100,000-plus military housing units

An ambitious plan by a California company to install solar panels for more than 100,000 military housing units has beem revived with private financing after it failed to receive a loan guarantee from the federal government.

The company, SolarCity, was to announce today that Bank of America Merrill Lynch will lend it up to $350 million to put solar electric panels on roofs and other areas to power as many as 120,000 homes for military personnel over the next five years.

Click here for the New York Times report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Oil prices up on news of global banking plan

Oil prices were up today, rising as high as $101.75 a barrel at one point, as the U.S. and other countries tried to make it easier for banks to lend money and keep the global economy growing.

Click here for the Associated Press report.

--Jack Z. Smith

Barnett Shale dominance shows in Texas stats for premier natural-gas producing counties

The Barnett Shale's dominance in Texas natural gas production is notable in the latest monthly data from the Texas Railroad Commissio.

Four of the top six natural gas-producing counties on the list are major players in the Barnett Shale, which underlies more than 20 North Texas counties.

Tarrant County continues to be by far the biggest gas producer among the state's 254 countie. Preliminary production for September shows Tarrant's output at 59.1 billion cubic feet.

Johnson County is No. 2, with 38.1 billion; Denton, No. 5, at 19.6 billion; and Wise, No. 6, at 18.3 billion.

--Jack Z. Smith