Some landowners were holding out on lease agreements related to a horizontal well that was planned for beneath their property.  The Texas Railroad Commission forced them into a natural gas pooling agreement.  More at Star-Telegram.com.

Atlas Energy is going to drill over 100 horizontal wells in the New Albany Shale by the end of 2009.  They have rights to over a quarter million acres above the New Albany in the Indiana portion of the Illinois Basin.  More in the Oil and Gas Journal.

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is looking at Marcellus Shale natural gas as a source of new State revenue.  The tax proposal might be first revealed in the Governor’s 2009 budget.  More about this in Philly.com.

Government agencies and natural gas drilling companies in New Yorkare both working hard to find solutions to the large amounts of water needed for drilling and hydraulic fracturing and how that water can be cleaned after use.  Government is considering new regulations and tighter oversight, drilling companies explore options for handling the water.  More in the Star Gazette.

This article from the Shreveport Times explores how some property owners make a lot of money from development of the Barnett Shale natural gas field and other property owners just a short distance away have a negative impact without compensation.

A post at the D Three Technology blog explains that lower natural gas prices, tight credit and the current down economy is causing natural gas companies to be less competitive in their leasing and focus more on their income stream.

According to an article on the Forbes.com website, unconventional natural gas companies such as Chesapeake Energy and Devon Energy could be the acquisition targets of major oil and gas companies.   The current financial environment of low natural gas prices and the credit crunch has depressed the stock prices of many companies.

MarkWest Energy Partners LP is working on a plant that will refrigerate natural gas produced from the Marcellus Shale.  The plant is located southwest of Pittsburgh.  More in the Oil and Gas Journal.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has an information page about gas well drilling in the Marcellus Shale.   It includes information about the shale, its geographic extent, how it is drilled, horizontal drilling, well permitting and environmental reviews.

American Right of Way Associates opened an office in Shreveport, Louisiana to provide title search and field work training for new right of way agents.  Thousands of miles of gathering system and transmission pipelines will be needed as the Haynesville Shale is developed.  More at PR.com.

Many people are concerned about where all of the water will be obtained for the hydraulic fracturing treatments needed when drilling horizontal wells in the Marcellus Shale of New York.  A idea published in the Ithaca Journal suggests that sewage treatment plants could sell treated sewage, thus making money from a disposal problem.

Companies who are drilling in the Barnett Shale cut back on their spending in response to the recent decline in natural gas prices and the tight credit markets.  The high values of $20,000 plus paid per acre for natural gas leases are on hold for now.  More at the Fort Worth Business Press.

Here is a very interesting read, the transcript from a recent business update call by Chesapeake Energy.  In it Chairman Aubrey McClendon comments on the stock price, natural gas prices, the value of the company and what he sees in the future.

Chesapeake Energy planned to present the story of the Barnett Shale and benefits of natural gas in an online news show called “Shale TV”.  The program was cancelled a few weeks before the first show was scheduled to air.  More in the Houston Chronicle.

Oil and gas drilling operations are having a difficult time finding experienced workers in Texas.  One well service executive said… “It’s virtually impossible to find help”.  More in an article in the News-Journal.com.