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The Saudi Arabia Of Shale
IBD Editorials ^ | August 17, 2009 | INVESTORS BUSINESS DAILY Staff

Posted on 08/17/2009 6:14:56 PM PDT by Kaslin

Energy Policy: New York's governor wants to tap into a shale formation that can supply the entire U.S. with natural gas for 65 years. Will NIMBY environmentalists let him stimulate New York's and America's energy economy?


Last week, David Patterson released a draft report of his Energy Planning Board that does something Democrats are loath to do: It proposes developing a domestic energy resource — the huge amounts of natural gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale formation. New York produces 5% of its natural gas in-state and imports more than 95% from the Gulf Coast and Canada.

The Marcellus Shale stretches from southwestern New York to Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio. A nearby formation of Devonian shale is even more porous, with a superior amount of trapped gas per volume of rock.

Geologist Gary Lash of State University New York at Fredonia and colleague Terry Engelder of Penn State estimate that Marcellus holds 1,300 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. About 20 trillion cubic feet are produced in the U.S. annually.

Lash notes that successful wells have already been drilled in Pennsylvania — one near Pittsburgh and the other in Susquehanna County. A Penn State report that was requested by state legislators predicted that Marcellus could add $14 billion to the state's economy in 2010, create more than 98,000 jobs and generate $800 million in state and local tax revenues. Now that's what you call a stimulus package.

(Excerpt) Read more at ibdeditorials.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Editorial; Front Page News; Government; News/Current Events; US: New York; US: North Dakota; US: Ohio; US: Pennsylvania; US: West Virginia
KEYWORDS: bakken; davidpatterson; davispatterson; drillbabydrill; drillbarrydrill; drillgate; drillheredrillnow; drilling; eceonomy; energy; energyindependence; energypolicy; fracking; fracturing; greenriverformation; ibd; inhofe; jamesinhofe; jobs; marcellus; marcellusshale; naturalgas; nimby; oilreserves; oilshale; oilsupply; paterson; patterson; peakoil; saudiarabia; shale; shaleformation; shaleoil; shalerock
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To: BuffaloJack

Priceless and self reliance. Outstanding.


21 posted on 08/17/2009 7:31:46 PM PDT by Frantzie (Lou Dobbs - American Hero! Bill O'Reilly = Liar)
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To: thackney

Ping.


22 posted on 08/17/2009 7:35:41 PM PDT by Army Air Corps (Four fried chickens and a coke)
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To: Kaslin

Drill here, now, everywhere, produce and burn cleanly, more efficiently and eliminate all pollution with no different C02/Oxygen mis than the ambient air. Do it with cheaper, simpler, gasoline and cheaper, simpler, cleaner refining. Produce all gas and use all methane produced by waste for power. Fluidize coal and burn it efficiently. Decentralize atomic power and produce more atom powered ships. Increase offshore production by 3 or more and drill under the Cubans, the Chicoms and the Russkies off our coasts. Create thousands of low head hydropower sites and tax incentivize individual hydro, wind and solar while discouraging boondoggles that don’t work in the marketplace. Put industrial water use on true recycling and stop wasting energy transporting water needed for other essetial purposes for industrial use.


23 posted on 08/17/2009 7:51:10 PM PDT by AmericanVictory (Should we be more like them or they more like we used to be?)
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To: BuffaloJack

In West Virginia a large number of Marcellus wells are already producing. More are being drilled everyday. In this area IIRC they go to 12,000’. A shallow well to less than 5,000’ takes about a week to drill. My guess is it costs about $200,000 (shallow). That includes the drilling rig for about a week, the site prep., casing and cementing, logging the well after it’s to depth and fracking. A Marcellus around here would cost quite a bit more. Much bigger well location, bigger rig, More drilling time. Way more water, etc. Around here it seems like the rig is on location for about three weeks.


24 posted on 08/17/2009 8:01:24 PM PDT by meatloaf (Obama, Obozo ... what's the difference?)
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To: Kaslin

I hope they drill for gas all around Ithaca NY just to p!ss off all the NIMBY lefties!!!


25 posted on 08/18/2009 5:33:32 AM PDT by Le Chien Rouge
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To: thackney

any thoughts?


26 posted on 08/18/2009 5:38:07 AM PDT by kellynla (Freedom of speech makes it easier to spot the idiots! Semper Fi!)
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To: Kaslin
Sorry, democrats are too busy killing America right now.

It's tragic to see Uncle Sam in the clutches of such evil men


27 posted on 08/18/2009 5:44:46 AM PDT by chuck_the_tv_out (click my name)
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To: parsifal
I guess Saudi gas is superior to American gas?

The Saudi's have little gas - they have oil. Qatar has gas. We have more gas than any other country in the world.

If we would just make the cars and develop the infrastructure to run our vehicles off of natural gas, we could stop importing Saudi oil.

28 posted on 08/18/2009 5:54:30 AM PDT by green iguana
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To: BuffaloJack
Interesting story. I'm surprised the EPA let them get away with it.

I like your tag line, but it should read "The Kenyan gaylord must fail". :-)

29 posted on 08/18/2009 5:56:40 AM PDT by Hardastarboard (I long for the days when advertisers didn't constantly ask about the health of my genital organs.)
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To: BuffaloJack

I would like to get back to work in the Oil and Gas industry. My job depends on drilling. So I say drill baby drill.


30 posted on 08/18/2009 6:02:33 AM PDT by CPT Clay (Pick up your weapon and follow me.)
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To: kellynla

More info

http://geology.com/articles/marcellus-shale.shtml

More infrastructure us required:

http://www.eia.doe.gov/pub/oil_gas/natural_gas/presentations/2009/pipelinedynamics/pipelinedynamics.ppt


31 posted on 08/18/2009 6:28:36 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: kellynla

Permitting in NY

http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/46288.html


32 posted on 08/18/2009 6:33:49 AM PDT by thackney (life is fragile, handle with prayer)
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To: meatloaf

These are horizontal wells with around 4000’ of lateral. So, a 12,000’ well is about 8000’ deep and so on. Vertical wells are not commercial. Horizontal drilling with multi-staged fracs is what has made it commercial.


33 posted on 08/18/2009 6:56:20 AM PDT by crusty old prospector
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ping self.


34 posted on 08/18/2009 7:08:56 AM PDT by Rick_Michael (Have no fear "President Government" is here)
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To: parsifal
Welcome to the wild and wacky world of WWII tech, parsy.

All over occupied Europe, vehicles were powered by these "kettles" which destructively distilled wood to make methanol (wood alcohol)and then gasified it to make gases that then fueled the engine. Unfortunately, destructive distillation is also incomplete combustion and you wind up with a sort of devil's brew of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, and methane.

A solution, but not a great one, as it also produces a lot of tars and other crapulous disjecta that can quickly foul an engine, unless you bubble it through a cleaner solution, which is undrinkable, even if listening to an Obama speech.

Pure methanol, which can be cheaply made from coal, btw, is a lot better motor fuel than ethanol, and does not starve Mexicans by driving up the cost of tortillas.

35 posted on 08/18/2009 7:17:31 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Congratulations Obama Voters! You are not prejudiced. Unpatriotic, maybe. Dumb definitely.)
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To: Kaslin; AmericanVictory; parsifal
Drill here, now, everywhere, produce and burn cleanly .....

American Victory is a dangerous thinker and must be discouraged from posting at all costs. This kind of clarity is contrary to the Green Policy Initiatives proposed by our elected leader, and thus, like any opinion contrary to those of The Anointed One, can be summed up in one ugly word:

RACIST!

In fact, it would not surprise me one bit if it were found that this poster is also against the Obama Health Plan, supports the 1st and 2d Amendments, and is for strong borders! Why if this keeps up, we'll all be reported to the White House.

36 posted on 08/18/2009 7:29:38 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Congratulations Obama Voters! You are not prejudiced. Unpatriotic, maybe. Dumb definitely.)
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To: Kaslin

As long as we don’t start trying to run all our cars on NG. My winter heating bills are outrageous enough.


37 posted on 08/18/2009 7:32:04 AM PDT by mysterio
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To: green iguana

If we lightened up on diesel regulations the same would happen.


38 posted on 08/18/2009 7:39:49 AM PDT by MSF BU (++)
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To: Kenny Bunk

TDP does the whole distillation almost perfectly, especially if the fuel (often waste) stream is discrete.


39 posted on 08/18/2009 7:41:41 AM PDT by MSF BU (++)
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To: green iguana
The Saudi's have little gas

The Saudis use the gases from their oil wells to create electric power and more interestingly, to power the giant de-salinization plants that provide the Kingdom's fresh water.

Speaking of fresh water, the Saudis are fortunate to be sitting on giant aquifers as well as giant oil fields! Unfortunately for them, they have been tapping them at a prodigious rate. 50 years ago, they could be tapped at 30-50 feet down, now they're at 400.

40 posted on 08/18/2009 7:53:15 AM PDT by Kenny Bunk (Congratulations Obama Voters! You are not prejudiced. Unpatriotic, maybe. Dumb definitely.)
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