Chevron continues the stream of large diversified oil and gas companies who are buying up smaller companies with a heavy focus on natural gas shales. Atlas had lots of assets in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Many of those leases probably give access to the deeper Utica Shale which is attracting more interest. More at Bloomberg.
A study on the economic, legal, regulatory, and environmental issues related to development of the Marcellus Shale has been published by the West Virginia University College of Business and Economics, Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
Don’t know the vertical sequence of rocks in the Marcellus Shale gas play? The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey has published a stratigraphic nomenclature chart for the Marcellus Shale and associated rocks in West Virginia.
Dominion Transmission plans to build a processing plant at Natrium, West Virginia to separate natural gas liquids from Marcellus Shale gas. More in the Charleston Daily Mail.
West Virginia has a wealth of energy resources. It has historically been a leading state for coal production and now much of northern West Virginia is over the Marcellus Shale natural gas field. An article in the Beckley Register-Herald titled “Will Natural Gas Replace Coal” explores how these two fuels might compete in the marketplace and how that competition might impact the West Virginia economy.
A rock layer below the Marcellus Shale could prove to be another incredible source of natural gas. The Utica Shale is thicker, more geographically extensive and has already proven its ability to support commercial production.
