AssessingOpportunities and Barriers to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural GasDevelopment in Utah’s Uintah Basin

Authors

B. Gentry
Douglas B. Jackson-Smith, Utah State UniversityFollow
L. Belton
G. Theodori

Document Type

Presentation

Journal/Book Title

USU-ISSRNR Research Report

Publication Date

2011

Abstract

Development of natural gas resources in the United States has increased dramatically over the past two decades, a boom driven by favorable prices, new technological developments, and growing interest in domestic sources of energy with a smaller carbon footprint than coal or oil. Most of the expansion in U.S. natural gas production has been from so-called ‘unconventional’ reserves in which extensive natural gas resources trapped in continuous sandstone and shale formations can now be extracted using modern directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies. The Uintah Basin in northeastern Utah has been one of several areas in the U.S. where major tight sands and shale gas plays have been the focus of recent natural gas exploration and development.

Recommended Citation

Gentry, B., D. Jackson-Smith, L. Belton, and G. Theodori. 2011. Assessing Opportunities and Barriers to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Utah’s Uintah Basin. USU-ISSRNR Research Report.