Ever since Colonel Edwin Drake's discovery well in 1859 in northwestern Pennsylvania, the Appalachian Basin-stretching more than 1,000 miles from Tennessee to New York and with an expanse of some 185,00 square miles-has drawn a crowd of successful hole-punchers. How successful have they been? In the intervening 148 years, the region has produced more than 70 trillion cubic feet equivalent (Tcfe) of gas. Indeed, the Appalachian Basin today accounts for nearly 6% of all U.S. natural gas reserves and about 3% of domestic gas production. But what's more fascinating is a 2002 U.S. geological survey estimate that the remaining undiscovered resource potential of the region is in excess of 75 Tcfe. So the basin still has plenty of legs left. But this potential isn't Appalachia's only attraction. "High natural gas prices and technological advances have spurred renewed interest in the country's oldest producing basin," says Shannon Nome, E&P research analyst for Deutsche Bank Securities in Houston. She notes specifically that success in unconventional coalbed-methane (CBM) and shale plays elsewhere in the U.S.-in places like the Barnett shale, the Rockies, Midcontinent and Arkoma regions-have driven technology transfer to Appalachia. For more on this, see the November issue of Oil and Gas Investor. For a subscription, call 713-260-6441.

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