An article on the Oil and Gas Journal website reports that the Sumitomo Corporation of Japan is considering a stake in the Marcellus Shale gas play. Last year they invested in Barnett Shale acreage.

An article at RigZone profiles the Marcellus Shale holdings and activities of Range Resources. Range was one of the first companies to aggressively buy Marcellus leases and now has significant holdings.

A new USGS Fact Sheet: “Water Resources and Natural Gas Production from the Marcellus Shale” provides an overview of the Marcellus Shale gas play with an emphasis on the environmental impact on water resources.

Early this summer natural gas prices were rising rapidly and utility companies warned their customers to expect higher gas bills this winter.  Now that gas prices have declined, the bills might not be as bad as expected.  More at Ohio.com.

Most deep wells drilled to produce gas from the Marcellus Shale will require a technique known as hydraulic fracturing to increase the permeability of the gas reservoir. Hydraulic fracturing requires hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per well and that water often contains additives and saline solutions brought up from the deep rock formations. An article on the pressconnects.com website explores this issue.