DPA-Related Articles

On December 18, Congress passed the FY 2016 Omnibus spending bill—twelve appropriation bills rolled into one. It will boost funding for essentially all science agencies and offices. Especially noteworthy is the removal of cuts to the Geoscience Directorate of the National Science Foundation. The AAPG policy office, AAPG members and other geoscience associations contacted dozens of legislators to explain the benefits of geoscience research to the nation and advocate against the cuts. It clearly made a difference. The bill also will allow changes to the highly restrictive rules on travel by federal scientists. In addition, the tax package passed in parallel with the Omnibus makes permanent the industry R&D tax credit.

Unconventional and conventional natural gas have the same chemical composition. It is their geologic setting that makes the difference. In 1976, unconventional gas contributed less than seven percent of the 19.95 trillion cubic feet (tcf) produced in the U.S. and the term “unconventional” appropriately referred to their rarity and the need for special technology for their recovery. Natural gas from unconventional formations now represents more than half of U.S. production.