USGS surveys east coast gas reserves

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WASHINGTON, June 21 (UPI) -- Eastern states in the United States hold 3.9 trillion cubic feet worth of undiscovered natural gas on average, the U.S. Geological Survey estimates.

The USGS said East Coast basins stretching from Georgia to Massachusetts contain, on average, 3.9 trillion cubic feet of mean undiscovered natural gas and 135 million barrels of natural gas liquids.

The basins surveyed are onshore and offshore. Of the 14 basins included in the study, the USGS said there is enough data for five of the basins to be quantitatively assessed.

"Americans are currently benefiting from a plentiful supply of natural gas from continuous resource accumulations similar to the ones considered in this assessment," USGS Director Marcia McNutt said in a statement.

The assessment by the USGS for undiscovered natural gas ranges from 1.8 trillion to 7.1 trillion cubic feet. For undiscovered natural gas liquids, the estimate ranges from 56 million to 260 million barrels. It reported a 95 percent probability for the low end and a 5 percent probability for the high end estimate.