The Shale Crescent: Buried Treasure In America’s Heartland

Southeastern Ohio has been a key player in the United States’ natural gas boom over the last few years. Flowing with fossil fuels, which are extracted through drilling and fracking, Ohio’s southeastern counties have become some of the most profitable land in the world.

The “Shale Crescent” refers to a region in the United States spanning Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia known for its plentiful reservoirs of natural gas. This geographic zone sits on top of the Utica Shale and is adjacent to the Marcellus Shale formations, providing an abundance of energy for the local area, the broader United States, and the world.

Shale is the most commonly found sedimentary rock on earth, formed by mud, silt, and minerals. About 78% of total U.S. dry natural gas production came from shale formations in 2023, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The organic matter in shale gives it the properties to become a hydrocarbon source rock. With enough heat and pressure, shale is converted into natural gas, making the Shale Crescent an extremely lucrative location for energy production.

The Global Impact of U.S. Energy Independence

The vast majority of American growth in natural gas production over the past two decades has come from the Shale Crescent. The discovery of this resource and the successful establishment of the energy industry in the region has upended the global energy market. 

Thanks to successful drilling in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, the United States flipped from a net importer to a net exporter of natural gas in 2016. The results of this boom in production have been a global phenomenon.

Shale Crescent USA is the name of a non-profit organization founded to effectively communicate the importance of the region to industry decision makers. The non-profit also calls the region itself “Shale Crescent USA” in marketing and public relations materials. The group has written about the international impact of this land on the energy market.

“If Ohio, West Virginia and Pennsylvania were a country, it would be the third largest natural gas producing country in the world. This means Shale Crescent USA alone produces more natural gas than Iran, Qatar, Canada, China and every other country in the world except for the rest of the U.S. and Russia.”

Because the United States is able to produce almost all of the natural gas it consumes, thanks to the Shale Crescent’s reserves, it is no longer relying on international energy sources. It has dominated much of the energy market in recent years and it’s able to sell its energy reserves abroad for a profit.

The World Runs on Ohio Energy

In 2024, natural gas accounted for roughly 25% of global energy use. Natural gas will remain increasingly valuable for the U.S. both as a source of energy domestically and as an export.

The United States stayed at the top of the charts as the world’s largest liquefied natural gas exporter in 2024, according to the EIA. With connections to both the Gulf Coast and the Great Lakes export facilities, the Shale Crescent is particularly well situated to participate in that exportation and its natural gas is shipped all over the world.

Researchers predict that the United States alone has a 500-year supply of natural gas. Luckily for the Shale Crescent, it will continue to dominate production. The 2023 Annual Energy Outlook from the EIA projected that the majority of U.S. dry natural gas production through 2050 would be from shale and tight gas resources.

Energy production has skyrocketed thanks to the Shale Crescent region and there are no signs of it slowing down any time soon. With years of reserves available, America’s heartland will continue to make a deep impact on the global energy market for decades to come.

* Source:

https://www.eia.gov/tools/glossary/index.php?id=shale

https://shalecrescentusa.com/advantages/abundant-natural-gas-supply/

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/natural-gas/imports-and-exports.php

https://www.directenergy.com/en/learn/energy-choice/history-of-natural-gas-industry