What is under the Utica Shale?
The United States Geological Survey’s mean estimates of undiscovered, technically recoverable unconventional resources indicate that the Utica Shale contains about 38 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, about 940 million barrels of oil, and 208 million barrels of natural gas liquids [15].
Where is the Marcellus Shale located?
The Marcellus Middle Devonian-age organic-rich formation, also known as Marcellus Shale, extends in the subsurface from New York State in the north to northeastern Kentucky and Tennessee in the south and is the most prolific natural gas-producing formation in the Appalachian basin.
Is the Marcellus thicker than Utica?
Although the Marcellus Shale is the current unconventional shale drilling target in Pennsylvania, another rock unit with enormous potential is a few thousand feet below the Marcellus. The Utica Shale is thicker than the Marcellus, more geographically extensive and has already shown that it can be of commercial value.
How much gas does the Marcellus Shale have?
According to the USGS assessment, the Marcellus Shale contains about 84 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas and 3.4 billion barrels of undiscovered, technically recoverable natural gas liquids.
Why is Marcellus Shale important?
This shale contains significant quantities of natural gas. New devel- opments in drilling technology, along with higher wellhead prices, have made the Marcellus Shale an important natural gas resource. This water must be recovered from the well and disposed of before the gas can flow.
What are the issues surrounding Marcellus Shale?
Water-resource issues associated with development of the Marcellus play include the 1) impact of surface-water and groundwater withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing during low-flow periods, 2) disposal of black-shale drill cuttings that may produce acidic, metals-rich drainage with elevated radioisotopes, and 3) …