What is the Cumnock Shale Formation? While not yet well known among the natural gas & oil community,
geologists have drawn their attention to Shale Gas potential located in the Triassic Strata Deep River Basin of North
Carolina. Currently, the only two counties known to contain shale gas potential in this area are Lee County and
Chatham County, North Carolina. A third county in North Carolina, Moore County, is also being targeted for
oil & natural gas. The area of the Deep River Basin extends 150 miles along the northeast trend of central North
Carolina. While there are multiple formations of shale in Lee County and Chatham County, the one most gas-prone, is
known as the Cumnock Formation. The other shale formations are known as the Sanford Formation & Perkin Formation.
As of 2009, there were 28 wells that had been drilled in the Cumnock
Formation of North Carolina, six of which reported natural gas and oil recovery. There have been two shut-in wells
that have reported pressures of 900 psi and 300 psi.
History
In the past,
Lee and Chatham Counties of Carolina were very well known for the coal production prominent in the area. The coal mining
era of the area, dated back to 1775 when the coal was used for iron and ammunition. From 1920 to the 1940's, underground
coal mining was prominent before a coal mine explosion killed 53 workers. Finally, in the 1980's and 1990's, petroleum
drilliing became the activity of interest in the area. It wasn't until 2008 and geologists recognized the shale in Lee
and Chatham County, North carolina as a potential gas resource.
*Information courtesy of North Carolina
Geological Survey (NCGS), Releigh, North Carolina
While
environmentalists have rising concerns about the possiblity of the area becoming a large natural oil and gas recovery zone,
it has not stopped 62 landowners from registering deeds in Lee County, North Carolina and signing on with gas companies as
of August 25, 2010. If natural gas prices rise in the future, the cumnock shale field could make a lot of landowners
rich!
