Recently, some Penn State professors in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences wrote an updated report on the economic impact of Marcellus Shale, a sedimentary rock formation on the east coast with lots of natural gas reserves, and how it could affect Pennsylvania’s economy. You may be wondering, “What does Marcellus Shale look like?” According to the study, it looks like $20 billion and 200,000 new jobs by 2020.

“Our estimates suggest that in 2020 the Marcellus industry in Pennsylvania could be creating more than $18 billion in value added, generating more than $1.8 billion in state and local tax revenues, and supporting more than 200,000 jobs,” the study’s authors, professors in the Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering and the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at Penn State University, wrote in this year’s update to a similar report put out in 2009.

According to the authors, the numbers would have been even larger were it not for the rough economic times. Still, that much money over the next decade is nothing to laugh about. You can check out the full report for more details and statistics.

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