Ohio Shale
We've been reporting on development of the Marcellus Shale for some time now in the Appalachian Basin (see here and here, e.g.). The Columbus Dispatch has a good article on Utica Shale development in Ohio: "Geologists say the Utica shale formation, a layer of thick black rock that lies 8,000 feet beneath most of the state, might hold enormous oil and natural-gas reserves. This promise has oil and gas companies spending a lot of money to snap up land." More: "Utica shale is thinner and deeper, and covers more of Ohio. That and some recent drilling successes in Canada, New York and western Pennsylvania make large Ohio deposits more likely, Engelder [a Penn State geologist] said."
Nice.
[Immediate update: There are substantial economic benefits to this type of development, noted even by NPR in a story on PA shale activity: "Pennsylvania's natural gas industry is rapidly expanding, and the state may be on the verge of a decades-long drilling rush. Right now, most of the jobs are going to transient out-of-state workers, but that trend is providing a boost to pockets of Pennsylvania's economy."]
