More on the Marcellus Shale in West Virginia

The Marcellus Shale holds huge amounts of natural gas that can now be developed through horizontal drilling. Instead of just drilling vertically into the gas producing formation, which may be only a few feet thick, the drill stem can now be turned to drill horizontally through the formation, greatly increasing the area from which gas can be produced. Here's an article from today's Daily Mail on this topic. Note that West Virginia, unlike Pennsylvania, has a severance tax on natural gas, which allows producers a bigger profit in PA.

One of the greatest concerns expressed about natural gas development of tight shale formations like the Marcellus is the fracturing of rock, or "fracking," that allows the gas to flow more freely. Here's an article from the State Journal about the question of whether states or the federal government should oversee fracking.