Montana on track to issue record number of oil drilling permits

ontana is on pace to issue a record number of oil drilling permits this year while natural gas development has nearly come to a halt, state officials said.

The state issued 228 oil permits through June, or one more than it issued in all of last year, the Montana Board of Oil and Gas said.

The discovery of large shale gas formations in the eastern and southern parts of the country have led to falling natural gas prices, as has the production of oil well gas being captured from oil wells in the Bakken formation and in parts of eastern Montana.