Research Paper on:
Drilling in the Marcellus Shale

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
York, Pennsylvania and Ohio. Though the research relates a range of benefits that can derived from the acquisition of natural gas in the region, there are some concerns about  the environmental impacts of this kind of project, especially in light of major environmental distasters that have happened in recent years, including the recent earthquakes in Japan and mining  disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. This business plan introduces a strategic approach to safe drilling in the region that includes a greater investment in intial costs, a longer  overall capital recovery period, but also a longer level of productivity that will allow for the extraication of enough gas to meet this countrys natural gas needs for more  than a decade. The strategic approach will include multiple drilling sites, the use of existing longer drilling structures to aid in the stability of operations, and methods to ensure safety,  including measures to protect against the flow of natural radiation from below the earths surface. The purpose of this plan is to show that drilling in this region is  safe and there is a way to ensure the protection of the nature environment, including the Chesapeake Bay Watershed, in the presence of efforts to extract the abundance of natural  gas in the Marcellus shale. Table of Contents 1. Introduction 1.1 Glossary 1.2 Purpose of the Proposal 2. Background of the Problem 3. Drilling in the Marcellus  Shale 4. Threats of Natural Disaster 5. Assessing Benefits and Challenges 6. Conclusions 7. Bibliography 8. Appendix 1. Introduction Since 2001, researchers have identified the presence of  a large and verifiable region of natural gas in the Appalachian Basin. Known as the Marcellus shale or the Marcellus Subgroup, this region stretching below the surface of