New technology is making much more natural gas economically recoverable than earlier estimates credited to the U.S., a recent study shows.

The Potential Gas Committee (PGC), the non-profit organization that is the recognized experts on the subject, reports that the volume of America’s economically recoverable natural gas resources has skyrocketed by 35 percent from its estimate just two years ago.  Much of the spike is attributed to gas in shale rocks, sources drilling companies have only recently begun processing.  Through a process called hydraulic fracturing, companies inject water at high pressure into wells.  Underground rocks shatter, releasing trapped gas.

The study cited evidence of 2,074 trillion cubic feet of domestic natural gas reserves, the equivalent of roughly 350 billion barrels of oil.  The result would put the U.S. natural gas supply in line with that of Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves.

Though just released, the study is not news to natural gas proponent T. Boone Pickens.

“(This) report substantiates what I’ve been saying for years: there’s plenty of natural gas in the U.S.  I launched the Pickens Plan a year ago to reduce our dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and using our abundant supply of natural gas as a transition fuel for fleet vehicles and heavy-duty trucks is a key element of that plan.”

This improvement in production technology came amid what stands to be the most significant shift in energy policy in more than three decades.  The report coincides with debates in Congress over carbon dioxide emissions limits, as well as efforts within the Obama administration for tougher automobile fuel standards.

Pickens noted that on the same day the PGC report was released, gasoline and diesel prices were again on the rise.  “Now more than ever we need to take action to enact energy reform that will immediately reduce oil imports,” he said.

Pickens said pending legislation holds the key to capitalizing on domestic energy and curbing foreign oil dependence.

Legislation like H.R. 1835 and S. 1408 – The NAT GAS Act – provides the incentives and long-term stability to make the move from imported oil, diesel and gasoline to domestic natural gas, enabling major corporations, municipalities’ operating fleets, and individual owner-operators the option to buy American at the pump.