Shale gas in the United States facts for kids
Shale gas in the United States is a big source of natural gas found deep underground. Thanks to new ways of drilling, like hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, the U.S. has found a lot more natural gas. This has helped make sure we have enough gas, even as older gas sources produce less. In fact, in 2008, the amount of natural gas we knew we had in the U.S. was 35% higher than in 2006, mostly because of these new shale gas discoveries.
In 2007, two of the biggest natural gas sources in the U.S. were shale gas fields: the Barnett/Newark East and the Antrim fields. The number of special wells for this "unconventional" gas grew from about 18,500 in 2004 to over 25,000 in 2007. Experts think this number will keep growing until around 2040.
Because shale gas has been so successful in the U.S. since 2000, other countries like Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia are now looking into their own shale gas. Some people think the U.S. might have enough natural gas to last 100 years, but only a small part of that is currently "proven" and ready to be used.
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How We Get Shale Gas
Getting shale gas in the U.S. has grown very quickly. This happened after the natural gas industry worked with the United States Department of Energy to make drilling and extraction methods better. In 2008, the U.S. produced about 2 trillion cubic feet of shale gas, which was a huge 71% jump from the year before. By 2009, it grew another 54% to over 3 trillion cubic feet.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) even increased its estimate of how much shale gas we can get. In 2011, they said there was about 827 trillion cubic feet, much more than their earlier estimate. This was because they included new data from places like the Marcellus, Haynesville, and Eagle Ford shales. Later, in 2012, they adjusted their estimate down a bit to 482 trillion cubic feet. It's predicted that shale gas will make up almost half of all U.S. gas production by 2035.
| "Getting shale gas is expected to greatly improve U.S. energy safety and help reduce pollution that causes global warming." – White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 17 November 2009 |
Having so much shale gas means we can use natural gas power plants instead of coal plants. Natural gas plants produce less carbon pollution. They can also act as backup power for things like wind energy.
Some people have questioned how accurate the estimates for shale gas reserves are. In 2011, The New York Times reported that not everyone at the EIA agreed with the very hopeful numbers. They also pointed out that some companies helping with the reports had ties to the oil and gas industry. However, other news outlets and experts criticized this article for not showing all sides of the story.
Despite these concerns, shale gas production and reserves have continued to grow. In June 2011, the U.S. was producing about 21.6 billion cubic feet of shale gas per day. By March 2015, this had almost doubled to 41.1 billion cubic feet per day, making up 55% of all U.S. natural gas production. Even with this fast increase, companies found new reserves even faster. By the end of 2013, the amount of proven shale gas reserves had grown by 63% since 2010.
New technology and experience have made drilling for shale gas and light tight oil much more efficient. For example, wells drilled in the Marcellus Gas Trend in January 2014 produced nine times more gas per day of drilling time than wells drilled five years earlier.
A Look Back: History of Shale Gas
The very first time shale gas was taken out of the ground was in Fredonia, New York, way back in 1825. This was done in shallow cracks in the rock.
Later, in 1915, the Big Sandy gas field in Kentucky started producing gas from naturally cracked shales. By 1976, this field covered thousands of square miles. Since the 1940s, explosives were used to help get the gas out. In 1965, some companies started using hydraulic fracturing with water and sand, which usually helped wells produce more gas.
Other places also started producing gas from shales in the 1920s, but usually in small amounts.
Government Support for Shale Gas
In the 1970s, the U.S. government faced a shortage of natural gas. To help, they invested in many ways to find more gas. This included the Eastern Gas Shales Project, which ran from 1976 to 1992. The government also worked with private gas companies. In 1986, they completed the first successful horizontal well in shale that used multiple fractures.
The Eastern Gas Shales Project focused on improving how much gas could be taken from known shale areas. They used two methods that had been developed by companies before: massive hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The government also gave tax breaks and special rules to help the industry from 1980 to 2000.
Even with this help, shale gas was still seen as not very profitable in the late 1990s. In 2000, when the tax breaks ended, shale gas made up only 1.6% of U.S. gas production. However, some experts say that these government programs helped set the stage for the big shale gas boom that was coming.
In 1991, a company called Mitchell Energy (now Devon Energy) tried the first horizontal fracture in the Texas Barnett shale. This project got some help from a group funded by a federal tax. The first attempts were not very successful, but Mitchell Energy kept trying new things.
The Barnett Shale and Beyond
Mitchell Energy started getting gas from the Barnett Shale in North Texas in 1981. At first, it wasn't making much money. But the company kept trying new methods. In 1998, Mitchell finally found a way to make the Barnett Shale very profitable by using a method called "slick-water fracturing."
The success of the Barnett Shale showed everyone that getting natural gas from shale could be a huge deal. Since then, shale gas has become the fastest-growing source of energy in the U.S. Experts now believe that the amount of natural gas we can get has more than doubled, potentially lasting for over 250 years!
In 1996, shale gas wells in the U.S. produced about 0.3 trillion cubic feet of gas. By 2006, this had more than tripled to 1.1 trillion cubic feet per year. In 2007, a record 4,185 new shale gas wells were completed in the U.S.
The success in the Barnett Shale in Texas in 2005, thanks to new technology, made other companies confident. Soon, similar operations started in places like Arkansas' Fayetteville Shale and Louisiana's Haynesville Shale.
In 2008, a study by professors Terry Engelder and Gary G. Lash greatly increased the estimated amount of gas in the Marcellus shale. This report got a lot of attention in the industry, and many companies started buying land in the area.
Where We Find Shale Gas
Antrim Shale, Michigan
The Antrim Shale in Michigan has been producing gas since the 1940s. What's interesting about the gas from the Antrim is that it seems to be biogenic gas. This means it's made by bacteria working on the rocks, not just from heat and pressure deep underground. In 2007, the Antrim gas field was the 13th largest source of natural gas in the U.S.
Barnett Shale, Texas
The first well in the Barnett Shale was finished in 1981 in Wise County. Drilling here grew a lot because natural gas prices went up and companies started using horizontal wells to get more gas. The Barnett Shale is much deeper than older shale gas areas, going down to 8,000 feet.
In 2007, the Barnett shale (Newark East) gas field was the second-largest source of natural gas in the U.S., producing over 1 trillion cubic feet of gas. It now produces more than 6% of all U.S. natural gas. As of April 2015, there were no new drilling rigs active in the Barnett field, but many wells already drilled are still producing gas.
Fayetteville Shale, Arkansas
The Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas also produces gas. This rock layer is between 50 and 550 feet thick and is found at depths from 1,500 to 6,500 feet. At first, gas was produced using vertical wells, but now companies are mostly using horizontal wells.
Haynesville Shale, Louisiana
The Haynesville Shale in northwest Louisiana has produced gas since 1905. But it only became a big focus for modern shale gas drilling after a discovery in November 2007. Haynesville shale wells are also drilled in northeast Texas.
Collingwood-Utica Shale, Michigan
From 2008 to 2010, a company called Encana (now Ovintiv) bought a lot of land in Michigan for the Collingwood Utica shale gas play. Natural gas is produced from both the Collingwood and Utica shale layers here.
New Albany Shale, Illinois Basin
The New Albany Shale produces gas in parts of Illinois, Indiana, and Kentucky. This area has been producing gas for over 100 years. Better well technology has increased drilling activity. The gas here comes from a mix of biogenic (bacteria-made) and thermogenic (heat-made) sources.
Devonian Shales, Appalachian Basin
Chattanooga and Ohio Shales
The older shales in the Appalachian Basin have been producing gas since the early 1900s. These shales are known by different names in different areas, like the Chattanooga Shale and the Ohio Shale. More than 20,000 wells produce gas from these shales. The wells are usually 3,000 to 5,000 feet deep.
Marcellus Shale
The Marcellus shale in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York was once thought to be used up. But now, with horizontal drilling, it's estimated to hold a huge amount of gas, possibly enough to supply the northeastern U.S. with natural gas.
Woodford Shale, Oklahoma
The Woodford Shale in Oklahoma is between 50 and 300 feet thick. Even though gas was first found here in 1939, there were only 24 wells by late 2004. But by early 2008, there were over 750 Woodford gas wells! Like many shale gas areas, it started with vertical wells and then switched mostly to horizontal ones.
Impact on the Economy
In 2010, the growth of shale gas helped create 600,000 jobs in the United States. Having affordable natural gas in the U.S. is very important for industries like chemicals, manufacturing, and steel. These industries need natural gas to make their products.
The American Chemistry Council believes that if the supply of ethane (a liquid from shale gas) increases by 25%, it could add over 400,000 jobs. It could also bring in over $4.4 billion each year in taxes and lead to $16.2 billion in new investments by the chemical industry. They also note that the low price of ethane gives U.S. manufacturers a big advantage over other countries.
Similarly, the National Association of Manufacturers thinks that lots of shale gas and lower natural gas prices will help U.S. manufacturers hire 1,000,000 more workers by 2025. Lower costs for materials and energy could save them as much as $11.6 billion by 2025.
In December 2011, America's Natural Gas Association (ANGA) estimated that lower gas prices would give families an extra $926 in spending money each year between 2012 and 2015. This amount could even go up to $2,000 by 2035. Over $276 billion is being invested in the U.S. Petrochemical industry, mostly in Texas. Because of shale gas, the use of coal has gone down since 2009.
A 2017 study found that hydraulic fracturing helped create jobs and increase wages. It said that new oil and gas drilling led to 725,000 more jobs in the U.S. and a 0.5% drop in the unemployment rate during the Great Recession. Research also shows that shale gas wells can affect house prices. Homes that rely on groundwater might drop in value by 13%, while homes with piped water might see a 2–3% increase. The increase for piped-water homes is likely because property owners get payments from gas found under their land.
Whether to export natural gas has caused disagreements among businesses. Manufacturers like Dow Chemical want to keep gas prices low in the U.S. Energy companies like Exxon Mobil want to export more gas to other countries, which could raise prices. Manufacturers worry that more exports will hurt U.S. manufacturing. Some studies suggest that the shale gas boom has given U.S. manufacturers who use a lot of energy a big advantage, leading to more exports.
In 2014, many companies drilling for shale gas were not making enough money. However, the companies that were doing well focused on getting high-quality land. In 2016 and 2020, there was too much natural gas around the world, which caused prices to drop below $2 per million British thermal units. In 2020, U.S. producers needed at least $2.50 to make a profit. In 2019, the U.S. produced 92 billion cubic feet of gas per day.
Political Effects
A 2015 study found that shale gas booms can increase support for conservative ideas and politicians nearby. It said that conservative groups gain more support, and Republican candidates get more votes after these booms. This can almost double the chance of a change in who holds office, usually at the expense of Democrats.
Environmental Concerns
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Some environmental worries have come up with the rush for shale gas. These include concerns about exposure to uranium and not enough water systems. In Pennsylvania, there has been debate about releasing wastewater from "fracking" into rivers that people use for drinking water.
Another concern is that methane gas can be released, which contributes to global warming.
Shale Gas in Popular Culture
The word “fracking,” which is slang for hydraulic fracturing, has become a common word in English.
The "Great Shale Gas Rush" is a term used to describe the big increase in getting shale gas in the early 2000s.
Pennsylvania was shown in the Academy Award-nominated documentary film called Gasland by Josh Fox in 2010. Also, most of the movie Promised Land, starring Matt Damon, was filmed near Pittsburgh in 2012, even though the story was set in upstate New York.
Images for kids
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Appalachian dry shale natural gas production, 2008–2021
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Drilling a horizontal shale gas well in Appalachia
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