Feature Stories
A Ground-Breaking Opportunity: Mining Critical Minerals in America
April 9, 2018
Energy, minerals, and metals are indispensable for our American standard of living. But unlike the case with energy, the U.S. is chronically import-reliant on other nations for the minerals and metals that are needed for our country’s economy, infrastructure, and
Minnesota Mining Country Warms to Tariffs and G.O.P.
April 5, 2018
On northern Minnesota’s Iron Range, where evergreen trees stretch on for miles and snowpack lingers into the spring, a political shift is underway. Generations of residents have gone to work in the mines, endured cycles of booms and layoffs, and
Senator Hoeven: Fossil Fuels Aren’t Dead, and North Dakota is Proof
March 22, 2018
One of the most important challenges we face as a nation is reducing our deficit and debt. As a proud fiscal conservative, I understand we must make tough financial decisions; that is why I have worked diligently on measures that
America’s Economy Remains Sapped By Fringe Environmental Ideologues
January 22, 2018
Though President Trump has yet to give our nation’s onerous regulatory state a nickname, he’s nonetheless making good on his promise to eliminate the scourge of regulation that for decades has been a consistent fork in the eye of economic
Oil Companies Super-sizing Well Pads that Resemble Mini Industrial Complexes
January 16, 2018
Dave Elkin remembers in the earlier days of the Marcellus when EQT drilled three wells from a single well pad and it was considered a technological marvel. “The greatest thing since sliced bread,” Mr. Elkin, a senior vice president of
Low Emissions Technology Powers a Cleaner Coal Future
December 22, 2017
In terms of energy access, the importance of coal was once again highlighted when in October a new International Energy Agency (IEA) report detailed the significant role that coal has played in improving energy access around the world. The United
National Effort Underway to Prop Up Nuclear Plants
November 28, 2017
Federal and state officials are weighing proposals to keep otherwise uneconomic nuclear and coal-fired power plants from retiring. Waves of coal and nuclear plant retirements in recent years have sparked a nationwide debate over the value of baseload power, dividing
Truckers in Demand as Sand Mines Open in Permian Basin to Support Hydraulic Fracturing
November 2, 2017
Revolutions have taken place over the past decade that have opened up shale plays for the extraction of ever precious hydrocarbons. Horizontal wells are replacing vertical wells. Completions use slickwater hydraulic fracturing instead of gel fracs. Multiple wells are drilled
Before Gas, Local Oil in Pennsylvania Was Common Place in Early 20th Century
October 31, 2017
An oil drilling rig once was parked outside the Sun-Gazette Publishing Co. along West Fourth Street in the early 20th century. It was owned by the J.F. Yarrison Oil Well Drillers Co., which traveled around Lycoming County drilling for black
Do Local Hiring Trends Mean a Turning Point for Four Corners Oil and Gas Industry?
October 31, 2017
‘Now hiring’ signs are appearing in the Four Corners area, which is a shift after several setbacks in commodity pricing and market demand for the U.S. oil and gas industry in recent years. Anxiety about job loss is high in
