The Barnett Shale? What is that?

Unless you’ve been living under a rock (pun intended) the last year or so, you’ve no doubt heard about, read about and maybe even talked about the Barnett Shale. But what is the Barnett Shale exactly?

Wikipedia’s entry on the Barnett Shale calls it a “geological formation of economic significance”. Regarding its size:

The formation is estimated to stretch from the city of Dallas to west of the city of Fort Worth and south, covering 5,000 square miles (13,000 km²) and at least 17 counties.

Regarding its production potential:

The field is proven to have 2.5 trillion cubic feet (59 km³) of natural gas, and is widely estimated to contain as much as 30 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources.

And where does it rank with other shales or gas fields?

Some experts have suggested the Barnett Shale may be the largest onshore natural gas field in the United States.

Barnett Shale Maps blog has a huge collection of every kind of map, chart, table, facts and figures with information pertaining to the Barnett Shale.  The blog owner asks to bear in mind that the maps are for educational purposes only and some may be incomplete or out of date.  Stop by and check it out.