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.
With the collapse of natural gas prices that occurred in the second half of 2008 and early 2009, as well as the credit crunch, much of the leasing activity has come to a screeching halt, but much development and exploration is continuing. Many of the more established gas companies had their production thoroughly hedged from the high prices in 2008, and have been completely unaffected by the collapse.
Costs for shale gas production are thought to be less than $2 per MCF.
