About the Marcellus

The Marcellus shale in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and New York, once thought to be played out, is now estimated to hold 168-516 TCF still available with horizontal drilling. It has been suggested that the Marcellus shale and other Devonian shales of the Appalachian Basin, could supply the northeast U.S. with natural gas. In November 2008, Chesapeake Energy, which held 1.8 million net acres of oil and gas leases in the Marcellus trend, sold a 32.5% interest in its leases to Statoil Hydro of Norway, for $3.375 billion.

The Marcellus Shale is a unit of marine sedimentary rock found in eastern North America. Named for a distinctive outcrop near the village of Marcellus, New York, it extends throughout much of the Appalachian Basin. The shale contains largely untapped natural gas reserves, and its proximity to the high-demand markets along the East Coast of the United States makes it an attractive target for energy development.