NEW DELHI, March 17 (UPI) -- India's Reliance Industries Ltd. is said to be eyeing a partnership with U.S. company Atlas Energy to exploit gas locked in rock formations in North America.
Atlas announced in February it identified more than 3,000 horizontal drilling locations in the Marcellus Shale deposit in the Appalachian Basin.
The U.S. Department of Energy estimated in 2009 that the region held as much as 262 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.
RIL is believed to be looking at a partnership with Atlas to develop Marcellus shale deposits, the Press Trust of India reports.
The move follows a failed $14.5 billion effort by RIL to take control of petrochemicals giant LyondellBasell, which said its restructuring from bankruptcy was more attractive than the RIL offer.
Atlas is one of the largest natural gas producers working in the Appalachian Basin and is a leading producer of gas in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania.
PTI said RIL and Atlas were unavailable for comment.
