"Steve Lipsky’s tainted water well had already stirred national debate about the impacts of oil and gas production. Now it stars in a free speech dispute that has landed in Texas’ highest court – the biggest test of a state law meant to curb attempts to stifle public protest."

"A retreat in oil and energy stocks pulled the rest of the U.S. stock market mostly lower Monday."

"As a Texas energy company seeks approval for its plan to build a 1,100-mile pipeline carrying North Dakota crude oil across 17 Iowa counties, documents show the state's pipeline safety record has been less than spotless."

"Every day at remote oil fields across the globe, unwanted gas burns skyward. What goes up in flames could meet a quarter of the United States' natural gas demand. A small nonprofit using satellite imagery puts it on the map."

"The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has started to review new regulations for hydraulic fracturing on federal land, the last step before the rules can be made final."

"BP's 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico disrupted business all along the coastline. Through the end of July, the oil giant paid more than $13 billion to compensate people, businesses and communities affected. The company is disputing some of those claims in court battles that could drag on for years."

"NEW ORLEANS -- With the fourth anniversary of the busted well's final sealing coming up in a couple weeks, BP has been pushing back aggressively against the company's critics. On Wednesday night—just hours before the court's ruling—Geoff Morrell, the company's vice president of US communications, spoke in New Orleans at the Society of Environmental Journalists conference, and blamed the media and activists for BP's rough ride."

"BP shoulders most of the blame for the disastrous 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill by acting with "profit-driven decisions" that amounted to "gross negligence," a federal judge ruled Thursday in a decision that could quadruple the billions of dollars in penalties the oil giant faces."

"A U.S. judge has decided that BP Plc was “grossly negligent” and “reckless” in the Gulf of Mexico oil spill four years ago, a ruling that could add nearly $18 billion in fines to more than $42 billion (25.73 billion pounds) in charges the company took for the worst offshore environmental disaster in U.S. history."

"Wednesday is biofuel's big moment: The first of three commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plants comes online in Iowa. It took years of tricky engineering to get to this point. But that may prove the easy part, for the fuel's promise as a climate solution hinges heavily on federal policy."