Tight sands gain as U.S. gas source

This report, the last of a four part series assessing unconventional gas development in the US, examines the state of the tight gas sands industry following the 1992 expiration of the qualification period for the Sec. 29 Nonconventional Fuels Tax Credit. Because tight gas sands were the most mature of the unconventional gas sources and received only a modest tax credit, one would not expect much change when the tax credit qualification period ended, and post-1992 drilling and production data confirm this. What the overall statistics do not show, and thus the main substance of this article, is how rediscovered tight gas plays and the evolution in tight gas exploration and extraction technology have shifted the outlook for tight gas drilling and its economics from a low productivity, marginally economic resource to a low cost source of gas supply.