Shale Coverage

The Marcellus & Eagle Ford Shales







  



	Production success stories with different paths: one gaining in rig counts, one gaining its share of controversy


	
	
by Lori K. Ditoro


	

	



	

	

	Before this year, most Americans had not heard of shale gas. As President Obama calls for the U.S.’s independence from foreign energy sources and cleaner power generation, you can barely open a magazine or newspaper without seeing an article or commentary about the shale gas boom.




	Both the Marcellus Shale—thanks to the movie Gasland, one of the most controversial—and Eagle Ford Shale in Texas—the largest oil producing state in the U.S.—are at the center of the story.




	

	The Marcellus




	

	Part of the Devonian Black Shale Field, the Marcellus Shale runs below large portions of New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It is also under small sections of Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee and Virginia.




	The Marcellus, also known as the Pennsylvania Shale, extends more than 575 miles, is up to 900 feet thick and may contain up to about 50 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of recoverable gas, according to Terry Engelder, a geoscientist at Penn State. (Walsh) Other reports indicate that the recoverable amount could range between 100 and 200 TCF. The area has the potential to feed the natural gas needs of the U.S. for 20 years or more.




	Shallow drilling had occurred for decades. However, in 2004, Range Resources completed a well and experimented with hydraulic fracturing—which had been successful in the Barnett Shale—beginning the current successful production of natural gas in the Marcellus.




	

	Environmental Concerns




	

	Because production has occurred within highly populated areas, environmental concerns and questions have been a recent boiling point in the region. Producers in the area have come under fire amid fears about the safety of hydraulic fracturing, increased by burning tap water in the movie Gasland.




	The cause of the burning tap water (migrating methane gas) is a natural phenomenon. “Because methane can also reach aquifers through natural fractures or spread through the breakdown in organic materials…, gas is present in many wells before drilling occurs.” (Legere) In some areas of Pennsylvania, this migrating gas has been increased by improper drilling techniques. However, the industry is making strides to improve the problem.



	
	







			
	

  


  

    

          
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