Shale sweepstakes
From Wikimarcellus
The shale sweepstakes is a frenzied push to acquire rights to drill for natural gas found in deep shale formations throughout North America. Output from these fields is cited as one of the main reasons explaining why overall U.S. natural gas has been on the upswing, jumping 9% in 2008, after languishing for nearly a decade. The granddaddy of shale oil plays is the huge Barnett Shale field located in the vicinity of Fort Worth, Texas.
Two dozen shale beds in North America may have substantial quantities of natural gas.
