Two Interior Dept. bureaus have concluded that oil and gas well-stimulation techniques, including hydraulic fracturing, off the coast of California do not pose a significant environmental risk.

The sun is rising on northwestern North Dakota, casting mottled light across the prairie and the faces of an army of oil workers.

After several minor-to-moderate earthquakes shook the U.S. interior in 2011, a number of reports suggested a link between hydraulic fracturing—a technique used to extract natural gas from shale-gas deposits—and increased seismic activity in areas typically not prone to such events.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on April 18 finalized standards under the Clean Air Act to reduce air pollution associated with oil and natural gas production through hydraulic fracturing.

As New York intensifies its debate over whether to employ hydraulic fracturing techniques to recover shale-gas deposits in the Marcellus shale formation, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is sticking to his pledge to "let the science and the facts" determine if the state' should lift a two-year moratorium on fracking.