Study Says Utica Shale May Hold 20 Times More Natural Gas Than Previously Thought

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From TribLIVE:
The amount of natural gas trapped in the Utica shale might rival what drillers hope to extract from its more famous neighbor the Marcellus, a group of geologists said Tuesday. 
“It's comparable to the highest number I've seen for the Marcellus,” said Doug Patchen, head of the Appalachian Oil and Natural Gas Research Consortium at West Virginia University and lead editor of a geologic report on the Utica. 
The Utica Shale Play Book, the result of a two-year study by federal, state and university researchers, estimates the shale rock formation below the Marcellus holds 782 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas. Estimates for the Marcellus range from 500 to 800 trillion. 
Gas companies last year pulled 4 trillion cubic feet from Pennsylvania shale wells. 
“It's going to take many years to drill it up. It will take decades,” Patchen said of the implications of the report. “It's not a flash-in-the-pan thing.” 
Estimates of recoverable gas in shale layers fluctuate. In 2012, the U.S. Geological Survey estimated the Utica had 38 trillion cubic feet.
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