The Exploration Reserves Production And Gathering Of Natural Gas In The Appalachian District PDF Download

High fuel prices have created an economic climate in which oil and gas development is increasingly profitable, and consequently increasing rapidly in the United States. This is especially true in the northern Appalachian region where the relatively undeveloped Marcellus shale formation is located. The Marcellus formation has been called a "super giant" gas reservoir possibly containing 50 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas. In Pennsylvania alone, over 375 wells targeting the Marcellus shale formation have been approved between 2003 and the end of 2007. However, environmental impacts from well pads and pipelines are relatively unknown. The objectives of this study were to determine the influence of vegetation cover and precipitation characteristics on sediment concentrations in runoff and sediment yields from the in-road pipeline, and to compare sediment yields to forest roads.