The search for affordable energy sources is never-ending. In the United States, natural gas prices have dropped significantly, inviting European countries to take advantage of the low pricing. Recently a German company announced its plans to expand significantly in the United States. Due to innovations in unlocking shale gas, the price of natural gas in the U. S. is only 25% of the cost in the European market. Price has a significant impact on energy-intensive industries and could drive more European investment to American companies.

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Millions of years of accumulating fossil remains, both plant and animal, are buried deep in the earth. These remains create a mixture of carbon and hydrogen, resulting in natural gas. Drilling recovers the natural gas closest to the surface. In the United States, fracking technology is used to recover natural gas located deep in the earth. In order to determine the amount of natural gas reserves in the world, information taken from geological and engineering studies is used to determine the amount of gas that can be recovered from known reservoirs. This information is evaluated using current economic figures and present recovery technology. Continue reading →