Shale Gas Estimates Slashed by 66%

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. Energy Department yesterday slashed its previous estimate of natural gas reserves in the Marcellus shale formation by 66 percent.

Increased shale gas activity within states such as Pennsylvania during the previous two years has provided a greater amount of data on gas drilling and production.

There is now an estimated 141 trillion cubic feet of natural gas available for extraction from the Marcellus shale formation using current technologies, slashed from a previous estimate of 482 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Energy Department’s Annual Energy Outlook.

According to the report, the amount of natural gas locked within the Marcellus shale formation would only meet U.S. gas demand for approximately 6 years.