Baker Hughes Inc. never stopped counting oil rigs in North Dakota, but in 1998 the company removed the state from its list of those with major drilling activity. The list is widely disseminated by the media.
Baker Hughes at the time cited a lack of drilling in North Dakota. The company does not have figures for [...]

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. this week rose by seven from the week before.
Of the 1,913 rigs running nationwide, 1,530 explore for natural gas, 375 for oil and eight are considered “miscellaneous,” according to Baker Hughes Inc., which tracks rig operations worldwide.
A year ago the [...]

The number of rigs actively exploring for oil and natural gas this week in the U.S. rose by 16 from last week.
Of the rigs 1,862 rigs running, 1,471 were exploring for natural gas, 381 for oil and 10 were listed as miscellaneous, according to Houston-based Baker Hughes Inc., which tracks rig operations worldwide.
A year ago, [...]

Venezuela, which this week announced plans to nationalize 18 oil rigs operated by international companies, wants to establish a Latin American oil and gas drilling corporation.
Such a company would give Petroleos de Venezuela and other Central and South American oil companies an alternative to North American rig operators, seismic providers and service firms, Bernardo [...]

Leaders of Guyana and Suriname are eager to tap their underwater oil reserves, but the drilling won’t begin until a world court draws a maritime border to settle their territorial disputes.
The drilling could dramatically change the fortunes of the two nations if predictions about the abundance of oil and natural gas deposits prove true.
Final [...]

De Beers, is currently fitting out its largest marine mining vessel in Cape Town for a programme to mine marine diamonds south of the mouth of the Orange River in South Africa. Hitherto most of De Beers’ offshore diamond mining has been undertaken on the Nambian side of the border, north of the Orange River.
The [...]

General Electric agreed Monday to buy a drilling equipment maker, Vetco Gray, for $1.9 billion as dwindling oil and gas reserves prompt energy companies to increase their investment in opening new fields.
GE will gain 5,000 employees in more than 30 countries by acquiring Vetco from 3i Group, JPMorgan Partners and Candover Investments. The acquisition will [...]

Opponents of oil drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge are going on the offense after playing defense for a quarter of a century. They want the new Democratic Congress to make an oft-challenged drilling ban permanent.
Legislation introduced in the House on Friday would make the oil-rich 1.2 million-acre coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife [...]

The group Environment Florida lashed out at Congress for voting to allow expanded oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico.
The legislation awaiting President Bush’s signature opens eight-point-three (m) million acres of Gulf waters, including an area that’s located 125 miles from the Florida Panhandle.
Environment Florida spokesman Mark Ferrulo (fur-ROO-low) said yesterday there are two big [...]

A few months ago, a bipartisan compromise on offshore drilling worked out by Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Mel Martinez appeared to be the best outcome for the state. The Republican-led House wanted less protection for Florida beaches and refused to accept the Senate’s offer. Then a funny thing happened in the recent election. Republicans [...]