Earth Equity News

As Oil and Gas Prices Plunge, a Frenzy of Drilling Ends. By Clifford Krauss, NYTimes, March 15, 2009. "The great American drilling boom is over. The number of oil and gas rigs deployed to tap new energy supplies across the country has plunged to less than 1,200 from 2,400 last summer, and energy executives say the drop is accelerating further. Lower prices are bringing to an end an ambitious effort to squeeze more oil from aging fields and to tap new sources of natural gas. For the last four years, companies here drilled below airports, golf courses, churches and playgrounds in a frantic search for energy. They scoured the Rocky Mountains, the Great Plains, the Gulf of Mexico and Appalachia. But the economic downturn has cut into demand. Global oil prices and American natural gas prices have plummeted two-thirds since last summer... The drilling cutback has been particularly stark for natural gas. Gas exploration had soared in recent years after technology advances enabled the exploitation of gas trapped in huge shale beds found around Fort Worth, western Pennsylvania, upstate New York and elsewhere. But that boom has created such abundant supplies that companies are not only drilling less but also deciding not to pump from wells already drilled... Energy experts and company executives warn that oil and gas companies now cutting back on investments will be unable to respond quickly to a future economic recovery... It could then take 18 to 24 months for companies to reassemble rig crews."