MARKET WATCH: NYMEX, Brent prices rally, top $32/bbl

Light, sweet crude oil prices soared by more than $2/bbl on the New York market Jan. 22, settling at $32.19 for March delivery while Brent crude oil prices climbed by nearly $3/bbl on the London market to settle at $32.18/bbl. Source: News

Watching Government: Interior's pause on coal

The US Department of the Interior’s Jan. 15 announcement that it will not issue new leases while it reexamines its coal program may have made oil and gas producers wonder if the federal onshore program for those resources might be next. Source: News

Analyst sees 'rising threat' to Libyan oil

Attacks on energy facilities on Libya’s coast indicate a “severe and rising threat” and raise prospects for further disruptions to oil supply, warns a risk analyst at JLT Specialty, London. Source: News

Equities and oil

Equity markets have joined crude oil in alarming contraction. Crude prices began their descent in the middle of 2014, flirted with recovery during March-May last year, then foundered, and now sink. Source: News

Earthquakes rattle Oklahoma

During the past 18 months, this editor has worked to become more knowledgeable about induced seismicity as it relates to earthquake swarms. A swarm involves numerous earthquakes happening in a local area in a relatively short period although a swarm’s duration can vary from days to weeks. Source: News