[jackbenimble]

There's a really good boom of activity going on right now here in Wyoming, and our state mineral tax revenues have benefited mightily from it too.

I'm quite involved in the Powder River Basin coalbed methane gas play. It is a huge boom for my area and they are making lots of gas. But by traditional energy development standards it is fairly marginal. Each well only makes a tiny amount of gas compared to traditional gas wells so they have to drill them by the hundreds. Fortunately they are shallow and therefore relatively cheap.

The low hanging fruit for domestic energy production has already been picked. There is lots of oil and gas left but all or most of the big resevoirs have been tapped. They are now being forced to go after ever more marginal wells.

[TChris]

The low hanging fruit for domestic energy production has already been picked.

Welcome to Free Republic! ...a few months after the fact. :-)

I agree with your statement, but I think "low-hangingness" of the fruit is affected by more than just geology. Just look at all the whining about proposed ANWR drilling!