HOUSTON, May 4 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Frank Mango, founder and 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.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100504/DA98190)

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.petroleumhabitats.com/aboutpetroleumhabitats.html).

For a copy of the paper, please visit www.petroleumhabitats.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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SOURCE Petroleum Habitats