The Natural Gas Industry in Appalachia

Book excerpt: The large scale, practical uses of natural gas were initially introduced by innovators Joseph Pew and George Westinghouse for the steel and glass industries in Pittsburgh, and local gas companies evolved from individual wells to an interstate supply network acquired by Rockefeller's Standard Oil interests. Natural gas is now a prevalent part of American markets and with the production from the Marcellus shale is filling the critical void left by a lack of new coal, oil, and nuclear power facilities. This vital American enterprise began in the Appalachian states as an accidental and underestimated byproduct of the oil rush of 1859. This book explores the evolution and significance of the natural gas industry to the present day.