Researchers: Shale holds vast supply of natural gas

A Fredonia State College professor helped unearth findings that suggest more....

  A Fredonia State College professor helped unearth findings that suggest more than 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas lies within the Marcellus black shale that stretches from New York through West Virginia. Since 1999, geology professor Gary Lash has been studying the fracturing of rock formations. His early research on the region, aided by undergraduate students, opened the door to the larger discovery. "If anything," he said, "it shows what can happen at a four-year college." It began during a Dec. 14 conference call with Texas-based Range Resources Corp., which was drilling near Pittsburgh. Lash's research partner, professor Terry Engelder of Pennsylvania State University, was asked how much natural gas was in the Marcellus Shale. Shortly thereafter, he and Lash set out to find the answer. To do so, Lash explained, they sought to solve three different calculations, all independent of each other. "Using natural gas measurements and data, we consistently came up with estimates of up to 516 trillion cubic feet," Lash said. To put that into perspective, approximately 20 trillion cubic feet of natural gas is produced in the United States every year. "And that number is going down," Lash said. "We're reaching the downside of production, and we think that the Marcellus Shale adds to the inventory." At present levels of technology, Lash estimates approximately 10 percent, or 50 trillion cubic feet, could be recovered from the Marcellus Shale. National Fuel Gas Co.'s biggest investor, hedge fund New Mountain Vantage, had been asking the company to speed up its drilling in various regions, including the Marcellus Shale.