Shale gas in the United States

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File:Shaleusa2.jpg

Shale gas in the United States is rapidly increasing as a source of natural gas. Led by new applications of hydraulic fracturing technology and horizontal drilling, development of new sources of shale gas has offset declines in production from conventional gas reservoirs, and has led to major increases in reserves of US natural gas. Largely due to shale gas discoveries, estimated reserves of natural gas in the United States in 2008 were 35% higher than in 2006.[1]

In 2007, shale gas fields included the #2 (Barnett/Newark East) and #13 (Antrim) sources of natural gas in the United States in terms of gas volumes produced.[2]

The economic success of shale gas in the United States since 2000 has led to rapid development of shale gas in Canada, and, more recently, has spurred interest in shale gas possibilities in Europe, Asia, and Australia. It has been speculated there may be up to a 100 year supply of natural gas in the United States.[3]

U.S. shale deposits also cross over into Canadian provinces, such as Ontario.[4]

Shale gas production

US shale gas production has grown rapidly in recent years as the natural gas industry has improved drilling and extraction methods while increasing exploration efforts.[5] US shale production was 2.02 trillion cubic feet (57 billion cubic metres) in 2008, a jump of 71% over the previous year.[6] In 2009, US shale gas production grew 54% to 3.11 trillion cubic feet (88 billion cubic metres), while remaining proven US shale reserves at year-end 2009 increased 76% to 60.6 trillion cubic feet (1.72 trillion cubic metres).[7] In its Annual Energy Outlook for 2011, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) more than doubled its estimate of technically recoverable shale gas reserves in the US, to 827 trillion cubic feet (23.4 trillion cubic metres) from 353 trillion cubic feet (10.0 trillion cubic metres), by including data from drilling results in new shale fields, such as the Marcellus, Haynesville, and Eagle Ford shales. In 2012 the EIA lowered its estimates again to 482 tcf.[8] Shale production is projected to increase from 23% of total US gas production in 2010 to 49% by 2035.[9]

"The development of shale gas is expected to significantly increase U.S. energy security and help reduce greenhouse gas pollution." -- White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 17 November 2009[10]

The availability of large shale gas reserves in the US has led some to propose natural gas-fired power plants as lower-carbon emission replacements for coal plants, and as backup power sources for wind energy.[11][12]

In 2011, though, a news report found that "not everyone in the Energy Information Administration agrees" with the optimistic projections of reserves, and questioned the impartiality of some of the reports issued by the agency. Two of the primary contractors, Intek and Advanced Resources International, which provided information for the reports also have major clients in the oil and gas industry. "The president of Advanced Resources, Vello A. Kuuskraa, is also a stockholder and board member of Southwestern Energy, an energy company heavily involved in drilling for gas" in the Fayetteville Shale, according to the report in The New York Times. The current EIA administrator, Richard G. Newell, a vocal supporter of the industry prospects, announced in June his plans to resign to take a job at Duke University.[13] The news report and one from the previous day on the same general subject by the same journalist attracted critiques from bloggers at Forbes and the Council on Foreign Relations, to name two.[14][15] Diane Rehm had Urbina; Seamus McGraw, writer and author of "The End of Country"; Tony Ingraffea, a professor of engineering at Cornell; and John Hanger, former secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection; on a radio call-in show about Urbino's articles and the broader subject. The associations representing the natural gas industry, such as America's Natural Gas Alliance, were invited to be on the program but declined.[16]

History

Shale gas was first extracted as a resource in Fredonia, NY in 1825,[17] in shallow, low-pressure fractures. Work on industrial-scale shale gas production did not begin until the 1970s, when declining production potential from conventional gas deposits in the United States spurred the federal government to invest in R&D and demonstration projects[18] that ultimately led to directional and horizontal drilling, microseismic imaging, and massive hydraulic fracturing. Up until the public and private R&D and demonstration projects of the 1970s and 1980s, drilling in shale was not considered to be commercially viable.

Early federal government investments in shale gas began with the Eastern Gas Shales Project in 1976 and the annual FERC-approved research budget of the Gas Research Institute. The Department of Energy later partnered with private gas companies to complete the first successful air-drilled multi-fracture horizontal well in shale in 1986. The federal government further incentivized drilling in shale via the Section 29 tax credit for unconventional gas from 1980-2000. Microseismic imaging, a crucial input to both hydraulic fracturing in shale and offshore oil drilling, originated from coalbeds research at Sandia National Laboratories. In 1991 the Department of Energy subsidized Texas gas company Mitchell Energy's first horizontal drill in the Barnett Shale in north Texas.[citation needed]

Mitchell Energy utilized all these component technologies and techniques to achieve the first economical shale fracture in 1998 using an innovative process called slick-water fracturing.[19][20] Since then, natural gas from shale has been the fastest growing contributor to total primary energy (TPE) in the United States, and has led many other countries to pursue shale deposits. According to the IEA, the economical extraction of shale gas more than doubles the projected production potential of natural gas, from 125 years to over 250 years.[21]

In 1996, shale gas wells in the United States produced 0.3 trillion cubic feet (8.5 billion cubic metres), 1.6% of US gas production; by 2006, production had more than tripled to 1.1 trillion cubic feet (31 billion cubic metres) per year, 5.9% of US gas production. By 2005 there were 14,990 shale gas wells in the US.[22] A record 4,185 shale gas wells were completed in the US in 2007.[23]

In January 2008, a joint study between Pennsylvania State University and State University of New York at Fredonia professors Terry Engelder and Gary Lash increased estimates as much as 250 times over the previous estimate for the Marcellus shale by the U.S. Geological Survey.[24] The report circulated throughout the industry.[25] In 2008, Engelder and Nash had noted a gas rush was occurring[25] and the New York Times' "There’s Gas in Those Hills" was an in-depth look at the development, noting investments by Texas-based Range Resources and increased leasing amongst Anadarko Petroleum, Chesapeake Energy and Cabot Oil & Gas.

File:Roulette,PA.jpg
A Marcellus shale rig located in Roulette, Pennsylvania.

In 2005, energy exploration of the Barnett Shale in Texas, resulting from new technology, inspired an economic confidence in the industry as similar operations soon followed across the Southeast, including at Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale and Louisiana's Haynesville Shale.[24]

Development

1976-2000

In the early 1970s, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved the creation of the Gas Research Institute (now the Gas Technology Institute). Amidst falling domestic gas production, the Morgantown Energy Research Center (MERC) initiated the Eastern Gas Shales Project in 1976, which established dozens of demonstration projects in partnership with universities and private gas companies in Eastern Pennsylvania, Ohio, and elsewhere. In 1976 two MERC engineers patented an early technique for directional drilling in shale.[26] In 1977, the Department of Energy first demonstrated massive hydraulic fracturing (MHF).[27] In 1986, a joint DOE-private venture successfully demonstrated the first air-drilled multi-fracture natural gas well in shale. In 1991, Mitchell Energy completed the first horizontal frac in the Texas Barnett shale, a project that was subsidized by the Gas Research Institute, which was funded partially by a FERC-approved surcharge on gas pipelines. In 1998, Mitchell Energy drilled the first commercially successful well for natural gas using a horizontal drilling technique called 'slick water' fracturing.[citation needed]

From 1980-2000, shale gas drillers benefitted from the federal Section 29 tax credit for unconventional gas.[citation needed]

2000-2008

Between 2005-2008, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection cited 518 Marcellus-specific drilling permits.[28]

West Virginia reported a doubling of natural gas and oil drilling permits between 2000–2008,[29] and a tripling between 2007–2009.[30]

New York reported oil and natural gas drilling permit growth doubling from 2000–2008,[31] contributing to 36,000 employment positions and an $8 billion economic impact in 2008.[32]

2009-2011

The number of permits issued by Pennsylvania tripled[33] between 2008–2009, including $3.5 billion in land acquisitions and 44,000 new employment positions related to the shale development.[34]

In 2009, West Virginia and Pennsylvania combined to add 57,000 Marcellus-related employment positions.[35] West Virginia's economy grew $1.3 billion in 2009 as a result of the rush.[36]

Royal Dutch Shell's $4.7 billion acquisition of East Resources in 2010, with acreage in four Marcellus states,[37] stood out amongst a flurry of acquisitions,[38] and by the end of the year National Geographic's special report on the developments was titled "The Great Shale Gas Rush."[39]

In July 2010, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a $5 million grant to train workers for Marcellus shale drilling.[40]

In 2010, Range Resources' Marcellus Shale Division reported producing 200 million cubic feet (5.7 million cubic metres) of gas, anticipating the figure to double in 2011.[41] The Marcellus Shale Coalition has predicted 88,000 new employment positions in 2011 as a result of the rush.[41]

By the end of that year, it was reported that more drilling rigs were moving into Ohio,[42] where the shale is more shallow.[43] Chesapeake Energy was cited as making "big plans" for development in the state in 2011,[44] as rural reports from West Virginia indicated the infrastructure was overwhelmed by the growth.[45]

A June 2011 New York Times investigation of industrial emails and internal documents found that the financial benefits of unconventional shale gas extraction may be less than previously thought, due to companies intentionally overstating the productivity of their wells and the size of their reserves.[46]

Infrastructure

Planning for infrastructure projects was reported in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio to accommodate the growth during this period, including for pipeline and water treatment services.[47][48][49][50][51]

In August 2010, Kinder Morgan announced plans to construct a 230-240 mile-long underground pipeline, which would transport recovered natural gas supplies in Western Pennsylvania from West Virginia to Toledo, ultimately connecting with existing pipelines in Michigan and Southern Ontario.[52][53] In September, Warren, Ohio's water treatment facility announced plans to become the first in the state to accept waste water from shale drilling, while at the 2010 Marcellus Summit in State College, Pennsylvania, state officials announced they were working with local officials on bonding issues for new infrastructure.[54]

Laurel Mountain Midstream announced in October plans to expand its pipeline collection system,[55] and later that month Texas-based El Paso Midstream Group and Spectra Energy signed a memorandum of understanding to construct their Marcellus Ethane Pipeline System to connect existing Ohio and Pennsylvania pipelines with Gulf Coast destinations.[56]

Shale gas by location

Antrim Shale, Michigan

The Antrim Shale of Upper Devonian age produces along a belt across the northern part of the Michigan Basin.[57] Although the Antrim Shale has produced gas since the 1940s, the play was not active until the late 1980s. During the 1990s, theal drilling is not widely used. Unlike other shale gas plays such as the Barnett Shale, the natural gas from the Antrim appears to be biogenic gas generated by the action of bacteria on the organic-rich rock.[1]

In 2007, the Antrim gas field produced 136 billion cubic feet (3.9 billion cubic metres) of gas, making it the 13th largest source of natural gas in the United States.[2]

Barnett Shale, Texas

The first Barnett Shale well was completed in 1981 in Wise County.[58] Drilling expanded greatly in the past several years due to higher natural gas prices and use of horizontal wells to increase production. In contrast to older shale gas plays, such as the Antrim Shale, the New Albany Shale, and the Ohio Shale, the Barnett Shale completions are much deeper (up to 8,000 feet). The thickness of the Barnett varies from 100 to 1,000 feet (300 m), but most economic wells are located where the shale is between 300 and 600 feet (180 m) thick. The success of the Barnett has spurred exploration of other deep shales.

In 2007, the Barnett shale (Newark East) gas field produced 1.11 trillion cubic feet (31 billion cubic metres) of gas, making it the second-largest source of natural gas in the United States.[2] The Barnett shale currently produces more than 6% of US natural gas production.[59]

Caney Shale, Oklahoma

The Caney Shale in the Arkoma Basin is the stratigraphic equivalent of the Barnett Shale in the Ft. Worth Basin. The formation has become a gas producer since the large success of the Barnett play.

Conesauga Shale, Alabama

Wells are currently being drilled to produce gas from the Cambrian Conasauga shale in northern Alabama.[60] Activity is in St. Clair, Etowah, and Cullman counties.[61]

Fayetteville Shale, Arkansas

The Mississippian Fayetteville Shale produces gas in the Arkansas part of the Arkoma Basin. The productive section varies in thickness from 50 to 550 feet (170 m), and in depth from 1,500 to 6,500 feet (460 to 2,000 m). The shale gas was originally produced through vertical wells, but operators are increasingly going to horizontal wells in the Fayetteville. Producers include SEECO a subsidiary of Southwestern Energy Co. who discovered the play, Chesapeake Energy, Noble Energy Corp., XTO Energy Inc., Contango Oil & Gas Co., Edge Petroleum Corp., Triangle Petroleum Corp., and Kerogen Resources Inc.[62]

Floyd Shale, Alabama

The Floyd Shale of Mississippian age is a current gas exploration target in the Black Warrior Basin of northern Alabama and Mississippi.[63][64]

Gothic Shale, Colorado

Bill Barrett Corporation has drilled and completed several gas wells in the Gothic Shale. The wells are in Montezuma County, Colorado, in the southeast part of the Paradox basin. A horizontal well in the Gothic flowed 5,700 MCF per day.[65]

Haynesville Shale, Louisiana

Although the Jurassic Haynesville Shale of northwest Louisiana has produced gas since 1905, it has been the focus of modern shale gas activity only since a gas discovery drilled by Cubic Energy in November 2007. The Cubic Energy discovery was followed by a March 2008 announcement by Chesapeake Energy that it had completed a Haynesville Shale gas well.[66] Haynesville shale wells have also been drilled in northeast Texas, where it is also known as the Bossier Shale.

New Albany Shale, Illinois Basin

The Devonian-Mississippian New Albany Shale produces gas in the southeast Illinois Basin in Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. The New Albany has been a gas producer in this area for more than 100 years, but recent higher gas prices and improved well completion technology have increased drilling activity. Wells are 250 to 2,000 feet (610 m) deep.[2] The gas is described as having a mixed biogenic and thermogenic origin.

Pearsall Shale, Texas

Operators have completed approximately 50 wells in the Pearsall Shale in the Maverick Basin of south Texas. The most active company in the play has been TXCO Resources, although EnCana and Anadarko Petroleum have also acquired large land positions in the basin.[67] The gas wells had all been vertical until 2008, when TXCO drilled and completed a number of horizontal wells.[68]

Devonian shales, Appalachian Basin

File:Horizontal Drilling Rig.jpg
Drilling a horizontal shale gas well in Appalachia

Chattanooga and Ohio Shales

The upper Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin, which are known by different names in different areas have produced gas since the early 20th century. The main producing area straddles the state lines of Virginia, West Virginia, and Kentucky, but extends through central Ohio and along Lake Erie into the panhandle of Pennsylvania. More than 20,000 wells produce gas from Devonian shales in the basin. The wells are commonly 3,000 to 5,000 feet (1,500 m) deep. The shale most commonly produced is the Chattanooga Shale, also called the Ohio Shale.[69] The US Geological Survey estimated a total resource of 12.2 trillion cubic feet (350 billion cubic metres) of natural gas in Devonian black shales from Kentucky to New York[3]

Marcellus Shale

The Marcellus shale in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, once thought to be played out, is now estimated to hold 168-516 trillion cubic feet (14.6 trillion cubic metres) still available with horizontal drilling.[70] It has been suggested that the Marcellus shale and other Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin, could supply the northeast U.S. with natural gas.[71] In November 2008, Chesapeake Energy, which held 1.8 million net acres of oil and gas leases in the Marcellus trend, sold a 32.5% interest in its leases to Statoil of Norway, for $3.375 billion.[72]

Utica Shale, New York

In October 2009, the Canadian company Gastem, which has been drilling gas wells into the Ordivician Utica Shale in Quebec, drilled the first of its three state-permitted Utica Shale wells in New York. The first well drilled was in Otsego County.[73]

Woodford Shale, Oklahoma

The Devonian Woodford Shale in Oklahoma is from 50 to 300 feet (15 – 91 m) thick. Although the first gas production was recorded in 1939, by late 2004, there were only 24 Woodford Shale gas wells. By early 2008, there were more than 750 Woodford gas wells.[74][4] Like many shale gas plays, the Woodford started with vertical wells, then became dominantly a play of horizontal wells. The play is mostly in the Arkoma Basin of southeast Oklahoma, but some drilling has extended the play west into the Anadarko Basin and south into the Ardmore Basin.[75] The largest gas producer from the Woodford is Newfield Exploration; other operators include Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy, Cimarex Energy, Antero Resources, St. Mary Land and Exploration, XTO Energy, Pablo Energy, Petroquest Energy, Continental Resources, and Range Resources. Production from the Woodford Shale has peaked and is now in decline, however.[76]

Environmental issues

See also: Environmental and health effects of hydraulic fracturing

Complaints of uranium exposure and lack of water infrastructure emerged as environmental concerns for the rush.[77][78] In Pennsylvania, controversy has surrounded the practice of releasing wastewater from "fracking" into rivers which serve as consumption reserves.[79]

Popular culture

The rush has popularized the word “fracking” in American culture, which is slang for sex.[80]

File:MarcellusShaleCloseUp.jpg
Exposed shale and foliage scattered in Marcellus, New York.

The Great Shale Gas Rush[39] presently refers to the growth in unconventional shale gas extraction in the early 21st-century.

Pennsylvania was featured in the Academy Award-nominated,[81] environmental docu-drama Gasland by Josh Fox in 2010.[82]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Jad Mouawad, "Estimate places natural gas reserves 35% higher,", New York Times, 17 June 2009, accessed 25 October 2009.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 US Energy Information Administration, Top 100 oil and gas fields, PDF file, retrieved 18 February 2009.
  3. ↑ Nelder, Chris (2011-12-29). "What the Frack?". Slate. http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/future_tense/2011/12/is_there_really_100_years_worth_of_natural_gas_beneath_the_united_states_.html. Retrieved 2011-01-25.
  4. ↑ Stop Fracking Ontario: Shale in Ontario
  5. ↑ Simon Mauger, Dana Bozbiciu (2011). "How Changing Gas Supply Cost Leads to Surging Production". http://www.ziffenergy.com/download/papers/Gas_Costs_Supply_%20Growth_April_2011_web_version.pdf. Retrieved 2011-05-10.
  6. ↑ US Energy information Administration, Shale gas production, accessed 4 December 2009.
  7. ↑ US Energy information Administration, "Summary: US Crude Oil, Natural Gas, and Natural Gas Liquids Proved Reserves 2009", http://www.eia.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/data_publications/crude_oil_natural_gas_reserves/current/pdf/arrsummary.pdf, accessed 5 January 2011.
  8. ↑ "AEO2012 Early Release Overview". http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/er/pdf/0383er%282012%29.pdf.
  9. ↑ "Annual Energy Outlook 2012 Early Release Overview". http://www.eia.gov/forecasts/aeo/er/pdf/0383er(2012).pdf. Retrieved 27 January 2012.
  10. ↑ White House, Office of the Press Secretary, Statement on U.S.-China shale gas resource initiative, 17 November 2009.
  11. ↑ Peter Behr and Christa Marshall, "Is shale gas the climate bill's new bargaining chip?," New York Times, 5 August 2009.
  12. ↑ Tom Gjelten, "Rediscovering natural gas by hitting rock bottom," National Public Radio, 22 September 2009.
  13. ↑ Urbina, Ian, "Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas", The New York Times, June 26, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  14. ↑ Helman, Christopher, "New York Times Is All Hot Air On Shale Gas", Forbes, June 27, 2011 1:37 pm. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  15. ↑ Levi, Michael, "Is Shale Gas a Ponzi Scheme?", Council on Foreign Relations website, June 27, 2011. The earlier Urbina article was “‘Enron Moment’: Insiders Sound Alarm amid a Natural Gas Rush”. Retrieved 2011-06-27.
  16. ↑ "Natural Gas: Promise and Perils", Diane Rehm Show, NPR via WAMU, June 28, 2011. Retrieved 2011-06-29.
  17. ↑ "Name the gas industry birthplace: Fredonia, N.Y.?"
  18. ↑ "Proceedings from the 2nd Annual Methane Recovery from Coalbeds Symposium"
  19. ↑ Miller, Rich; Loder, Asjylyn; Polson, Jim (6 February 2012). "Americans Gaining Energy Independence". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-07/americans-gaining-energy-independence-with-u-s-as-top-producer.html. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  20. ↑ The Breakthrough Institute. Interview with Dan Steward, former Mitchell Energy Vice President. December 2011.
  21. ↑ International Energy Agency (IEA). "World Energy Outlook 2011: Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?"
  22. ↑ Vello A. Kuuskraa, Reserves, production grew greatly during last decade Oil & Gas Journal, 3 Sept. 2007, p.35-39
  23. ↑ Louise S. Durham, "Prices, technology make shales hot," AAPG Explorer, July 2008, p.10.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 "The Rush Is On", Steve Reilly. Pennsylvania Business Central. March 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 "Marcellus Shale Play’s Vast Resource Potential Creating Stir In Appalachia", American Oil and Gas Reporter. May 2008. Accessed December 18, 2010
  26. ↑ "National Energy Technology Laboratory: A Century of Innovation," NETL, 2010.
  27. ↑ "Shale Gas: Applying Technology to Solve America's Energy Challenges," National Energy Technology Laboratory, March 2011.
  28. ↑ "DEP Issues 73 Marcellus Shale Drilling Permits", News Blaze. September 17, 2008. Accessed December 18, 2010
  29. ↑ "West Virginia’s oil and gas fields are surgin g", Jake Stump. June 4, 2008. Accessed December 18, 2010
  30. ↑ "W.Va. regulators scramble to keep up with gas drilling", Observer Reporter. June 22, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  31. ↑ "The Marcellus Shale: New York is the Natural Gas Industry’s New Lab Rat", Allison Sickle. DC Bureau. December 4, 2009. Accessed December 18, 2010
  32. ↑ "Nat Gas Facts: New York", Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York. Accessed December 18, 2010
  33. ↑ "State-issued Marcellus Shale gas well drilling permits increase 300% in 2009", Ford Turner. The Patriot News. November 4, 2009. Accessed December 18, 2010
  34. ↑ "A Drive for New Jobs Through Energy", National Geographic. October 14, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  35. ↑ "Shale Gas", Energy Tomorrow. Accessed December 18, 2010
  36. ↑ "Gas Drilling Booms in Valley", Casey Junkins. The Intelligencer. December 25, 2010. Accessed January 6, 2011
  37. ↑ "Royal Dutch Shell plc acquires new positions in US tight gas", Royal Dutch Shell. May 28, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  38. ↑ "Royal Dutch Shell buys Marshall gas driller East Resources Inc. for $4.7b", Rick Stouffer. Pittsburgh Tribune. May 29, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  39. ↑ 39.0 39.1 Special Report: The Great Shale Gas Rush", National Geographic. October 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  40. ↑ "Marcellus workforce training", WDUQ. 2 July 2010. Retrieved 13 July 2010.
  41. ↑ 41.0 41.1 "Shale drillers anticipate creating more jobs", Candy Woodall. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 16, 2010. Accessed January 6, 2011
  42. ↑ "Marcellus Shale 2010: The year the gas boom came to the region", Kristy Foster. Farm and Dairy. December 29, 2010. Accessed January 6, 2010
  43. ↑ "Marcellus Shale looks to be major player for natural gas", Newark Advocate. January 6, 2011. Accessed January 6, 2011
  44. ↑ "Business Tri-State: Ohio gov.-elect eyes gas riches of Marcellus Shale", Herald Dispatch. December 31, 2010. Accessed January 6, 2010
  45. ↑ "Rush to tap gas fields clogs W.Va.'s country roads", West Virginia Gazette. December 10, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  46. ↑ Urbina, Ian (25 June 2011). "Insiders Sound an Alarm Amid a Natural Gas Rush". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/26/us/26gas.html?pagewanted=1&sq=marcellus&st=cse&scp=12. Retrieved 28 June 2011.; Urbina, Ian (27 June 2011). "S.E.C. Shift Leads to Worries of Overestimation of Reserves". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/27/us/27gasside.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1. Retrieved 28 June 2011.
  47. ↑ “Natural gas drilling water treatment plant planned”, iStock News. June 17, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  48. ↑ “Penn. natgas water treatment plant challenged”, Reuters. November 3, 2009. Accessed December 18, 2010
  49. ↑ “Pipelines expanding to move Marcellus shale gas”, Pipeline and Gas Technology. September 1, 2009. Accessed December 18, 2010
  50. ↑ “Kinder Morgan Building New Marcellus Shale Pipeline from Pennsylvania to Michigan”, Marcellus Drilling News. April 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  51. ↑ “Warren Treatment Plant Gets OK to Process Wastewater from Marcellus Drilling”, The Business Journal. December 7, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  52. ↑ "New pipeline could impact Muskingum, Coshocton counties", Brian Gadd. Zanesville Times Recorder. 23 aug 2010. Retrieved 5 sept 2010.
  53. ↑ Kinder Morgan Cochin pipeline could bring part-time jobs to Coshocton
  54. ↑ Speakers say road work emerging issue in Marcellus development
  55. ↑ Laurel Mountain Midstream works to complete Marcellus Shale gathering system expansion
  56. ↑ El Paso and Spectra Energy announce execution of MOU to jointly develop MEPS
  57. ↑ Michigan DEQ map: Antrim, PDF file, downloaded 12 February 2009.
  58. ↑ Scott R. Reevbasins invigorate U.S. gas shales play, urnal, 22 Jan. 1996, p.53-58.
  59. ↑ US Energy Information Administration: Is U.S. natural gas production increasing?, Accessed 20 March 2009.
  60. ↑ Alabama State Oil and Gas Board (Nov. 2007):An overview of the Conesauga shale gas play in Alabama, PDF file, downloaded 10 June 2009.
  61. ↑ "Operators chase gas in three Alabama shale formations," Oil & Gas Jour., 21 Jan. 2008, p.49-50.
  62. ↑ Nina M. Rach, Triangle Petroleum, Kerogen Resources drilling Arkansas' Fayetteville shale gas, Oil & Gas Journal, 17 Sept. 2007, p.59-62.
  63. ↑ Mark J. Pawlewicz and Joseph R. hatch, Petroleum Assessment of the Chattanooga Shale/Floyd Shale Total Petroleum System, Black Warrior Basin, Alabama and Mississippi, US Geological Survey, Digital Data Series DDS-69-1, 2007, PDF file.
  64. ↑ Alabama Geological Survey, An overview of the Floyd Shale/Chattanooga Shale gas play in Alabama, July 2009, PDF file.
  65. ↑ "Barrett may haveParadox Basin discovery," Rocky Mountain Oil Journal, 14 Nov. 2008, p.1.
  66. ↑ Louise S. Durham, "Louisiana play a 'company maker'," AAPG Explorer, July 2008, p.18-36.
  67. ↑ Script error
  68. ↑ Script error
  69. ↑ Richard E. Peterson (1982) A Geologic Study of the Appalachian Basin, Gas Research Institute, p.40, 45.
  70. ↑ Unconventional natural gas reservoir in Pennsylvania poised to dramatically increase US Production 2008-01-17
  71. ↑ Script error
  72. ↑ "Chesapeake announces joint venture agreement", World Oil, December 2008, p.106.
  73. ↑ Tom Grace, "Officials positive following gas-well tour," Oneonta Daily Star, 7 October 2009.
  74. ↑ Travis Vulgamore and others, "Hydraulic fracturing diagnostics help optimize stimulations of Woodford Shale horizontals," American Oil and Gas Reporter, Mar. 2008, p.66-79.
  75. ↑ David Brown, "Big potential boosts Woodford," AAPG Explorer, July 2008, p.12-16.
  76. ↑ Woodford Shale production, 2005-2011, The Oil Drum
  77. ↑ “Fracking' mobilizes uranium in marcellus shale”, E Science News. October 25, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  78. ↑ “A developing issue: Water management, infrastructure needed for Marcellus gas production”, Farm and Dairy. November 9, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  79. ↑ "Pennsylvania Official: End Nears For Fracking Wastewater Releases", David Caruso. Huffington Post. 24 April 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011
  80. ↑ “Fracking for natural gas: EPA hearings bring protests”, Mark Clayton. Christian Science Monitor. September 13, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010
  81. ↑ "'Gasland' Oscar nomination roils drilling industry", Andrew Maykuth. Philadelphia Inquirer. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011
  82. ↑ “The Costs of Natural Gas, Including Flaming Water”, Mike Hale. New York Times. June 20, 2010. Accessed December 18, 2010

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