AT&T Inc. (T): The Birth of the Telecom Industry and the Accidental Nat-Gas Bonanza

We’ve got all the natural gas we need right here

The worldwide oil industry is thousands of years old, but natural gas didn’t start to enter the picture until the 19th century. In fact, the very first American natural-gas well was drilled by accident on July 9, 1815 in Charleston, W.Va., while workmen were digging out a salt brine well. The natural gas found here befuddled its discoverers, who could not figure out what to do with it. Other forms of gas, processed from coal, were put to use in Baltimore a year later, but natural gas remained a puzzle for decades until it was used, appropriately enough, to evaporate salt from briny water.

Today, West Virginia finds itself in the middle of a natural-gas boom, as major parts the Marcellus Shale lie beneath West Virginian land. Chesapeake Energy Corporation (NYSE:CHK) and EQT Corporation (NYSE:EQT) were two of the state’s largest natural-gas producers during the early days of its boom, and thanks to the efforts of these (and other) dedicated drillers, West Virginia’s natural-gas production doubled from 2008 to 2012. That’s not quite so impressive as neighboring Pennsylvania, which has tapped the Marcellus for a nearly tenfold increase in monthly production during the same time frame.

The article The Birth of the Telecom Industry and the Accidental Nat-Gas Bonanza originally appeared on Fool.com and is written by Alex Planes.

Fool contributor Alex Planes has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has the following options: Long Jan 2014 $20 Calls on Chesapeake Energy, Long Jan 2014 $30 Calls on Chesapeake Energy, and Short Jan 2014 $15 Puts on Chesapeake Energy.

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