Local water districts in Texas are restricting the use of water for exploration and production companies that engage in hydraulic fracturing or "fracking."

Junior oil sands exploration firm Southern Pacific Resources Corporation (STP:TSX) recently released 1Q12 results which showed that its production averaged 3,784 barrels per day (bbl/d) and cash flow of C$10.7 million or C$0.03 per share.

Surge Energy (SGY:TSVX) recently announced that it has drilled a horizontal well located at Valhalla South in Western Alberta which yielded five-day test rates of 1,992 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

With all of the attention that has been focused on the Bakken in North Dakota and the Marcellus shale in the Mid-Atlantic, it is easy to forget that California is one of the top oil producing states in America.

The Bank of New York Mellon Corp. recently told its clients that certain large depositors will be charged a new fee.

Canaccord Genuity reiterated its BUY rating and C$14.50 target share price for Birchcliff (BIR:TSX) after the exploration and production company announced that it had initiated a formal sales process.

The cost involved in drilling a well in the Eagle Ford shale has soared from approximately $5.3 million to as much as $10 million, according to an expert in exploration and production.

Penn West (PWT:TSX) recently held its analyst day in Calgary, but research firm Macquarie Equities Research's Outperform rating and target share price for the company were unaffected by the event.