Investment in a natural gas economy: The future of the Marcellus Shale and Southwestern Pennsylvania

Abstract

The Marcellus Shale Formation is the largest natural gas play within the United States. Spanning along the Appalachian basin, the Marcellus reaches from New York State to Virginia. Given advances in drilling technology, the Marcellus Shale is now situated as one of the most promising known domestic natural resource endowments. The Marcellus Systems Synthesis Project Team (MSSPT) examines how Southwestern Pennsylvania (SWPA) can position itself to develop regional energy generating capacity through investment in natural gas fired power plants (NGFPP). The Project Team has developed a framework for evaluating this investment decision via an assessment of key impact areas and key stakeholders involved in the investment process. This framework is the result of a review of scholarly literature along with recent news publications to develop an accurate characterization of the current state of operations within Marcellus Shale. Building off of this framework, a network matrix has been created to demonstrate how regional actors align around different impact areas. Mapping out a network matrix allows for a better understanding of the subsequent results from an initiative to expand the use of NGFPPs.