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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
BREAKTHROUGH
DISCOVERY FINDS NEW, REAL TIME PATH TO UNCONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS AND
LIGHT OIL
Findings
Present New Opportunities in Exploration and Production; Commercial
Applications Point to the Possibility of a New Energy Source
HOUSTON,
TX (April
21, 2010) - Dr. Frank Mango, CEO of Petroleum Habitats, and
holder of nine patents in catalysis and geochemistry, has shown for
the first time what was thought to be impossible: the existence of a
new, real time (not geologic time), catalytic path to natural gas and
light oil that could forever change the exploration and production of natural gas. Published
in one of the world's top scientific journals, The Proceedings
of The Royal Society A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences,
Dr. Mango's findings provide
conclusive evidence that a catalytic path is real, with important
implications for the unconventional gas and oil industry.
The
paper introduces a path to natural gas not previously recognized, a
low-energy, real time catalytic path that constitutes a new natural
process. Harnessing this process commercially can create a new
source of energy.
Dr.
Lawrence Evans, past President of the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers (AIChE) and CEO of Rive Technology, Inc. said, "This
paper holds significant implications for how oil and gas companies
approach shale exploitation. Simply put, Dr. Mango's results
indicate the possibility that sustained and high efficiency natural
gas production can be engineered,
which would enable oil and gas companies to affect the quantity of
natural gas and light oil available in shale plays."
"In
the near term, analyzing shales for their natural catalytic activity
gives exploration companies an important tool for finding this new
unconventional gas and light oil. Further, monitoring production
samples for the catalytic path can direct new production techniques
that deliver higher yields at lower costs," said Dr. Mango. "Longer term, utilizing the catalytic path can transform massive,
currently unexploitable deposits into clean catalytic gas and light
oil."
Dr. Mango continued, "We have conducted field studies with oil and gas
companies that establish this new path as a major source of natural gas in the shale wells studied. Our field tests in the Barnett Shale
show evidence of significant amounts of catalytic gas co-generated
with in-place gas. In commercial terms, these shales are acting like
chemical reactors in refineries, generating catalytic gas in real
time. Thus, they can be engineered to produce more gas and light
oil. This new path opens up commercial exploration opportunities in
areas thought barren or exhausted."
Dr.
Mango's previously published investigations provided indirect
support for this new path and were the subject of intense controversy
in the scientific community, as the path contradicts the traditional
models. Scientists currently believe that natural gas forms in
source rock buried deep in the earth, only at high temperatures and
over geologic time. Dr. Mango's paper shows that natural
catalytic activity in these rocks is a second source of natural gas
and light oil, and that generation occurs at relatively low
temperatures and in real time.
Dr.
Mango published a paper in 1994 (Role of transition-metal catalysis
in the formation of natural gas. Nature,
368,
536-538) challenging the universally-held belief that thermal
cracking is the only path to natural gas generation, and has since published 11 papers that expand the
understanding of the catalytic path.
Dr.
Mango holds nine patents in catalysis and geochemistry. Prior to
founding Petroleum Habitats Dr. Mango spent more than 20 years with
Shell Oil Company working in metal catalysis, petroleum chemistry and
geochemistry. He earned his PhD in Chemistry from Stanford
University, and was appointed Adjunct Professor in the Department of
Geology and Geophysics, Rice University in 1991, and Research
Scientist in the Department of Chemical Engineering shortly
thereafter. His bio can be found at http://www.petroleum habitats.com.
For
a copy of the paper, please visit http://www.petroleum
habitats.com.
About
Petroleum Habitats
Petroleum
Habitats is a geochemical research and development firm focused on
developing technologies to detect, predict and optimize catalytic gas
in unconventional gas plays. Located in Houston, TX, the firm was
founded by Frank D. Mango, an expert in organic chemistry, catalysis
and geochemistry. www.petroleumhabitats.com.
About
Proceedings
of the Royal Society A: Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Proceedings
of the Royal Society A
has an illustrious history of publishing pioneering and influential
research articles across the entire range of the physical and
mathematical sciences. These have included Maxwell's electromagnetic
theory, the Braggs' first account of X-ray crystallography, Dirac's
relativistic theory of the electron, and Watson and Crick's detailed
description of the structure of DNA.
http://rspa.royalsocietypublishing.org/
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Media
Contact:
Chris
Wailes
(713)
627-2223
cwailes@piercom.com
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