– A study of shale natural gas plays in the United States finds some of the predictions for long-term growth may be overly optimistic, the journal Nature reports. The U.S. Energy Information Administration expects shale natural gas production to increase through 2040. Advances in hydraulic fracturing, the drilling practice known commonly as fracking, has given energy companies a way to coax gas out of shale rock deposits that were previously out of reach. Tad Patzek, director of petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, said a detailed analysis of U.S. shale plays may be “bad news” for forecasters, describing the EIA’s forecast as optimistic. Policymakers on Capitol Hill have said the glut of natural gas means the United States should transform itself as […]