[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4955]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ACCESSING NATURAL GAS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was reported 
that the United States has 2.4 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas 
that can be recovered by current drilling techniques, according to a 
study by companies working in various shale basins across the country. 
That's 26 percent higher than the previous assessment, and at current 
consumption rates, a 90-year supply. The Marcellus shale has the 
largest share of resources, with an estimated 741,320 billion cubic 
feet.
  What has caused such a jump in resources and production? Not the 
Federal Government, that's for sure. According to the Congressional 
Research Service, production of natural gas has decreased on Federal 
lands by 33 percent. It's the hard work and innovation of private 
industry, a combination of technological and drilling advances that 
have allowed us to access resources that were previously inaccessible, 
all in a responsible and environmentally friendly way. In fact, just 
last week, the Energy Information Administration stated that expanded 
use of natural gas has driven down energy-related U.S. carbon dioxide 
emissions to their lowest level since 1994.
  America is just beginning to realize the opportunity of this growing 
and economically beneficial resource.

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