Eastern Kentucky: Natural Gas in your back yard

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[Hare of Caerbannog]

I'd like to hear anyone's thoughts about this topic.

My father is now in his upper 80's and gets confused sometimes, but he tells this story.
In the early 1950's he and a partner put together a home-made drill rig and went "wildcat drilling" for oil in Eastern Kentucky.
They found some oil and made a buck or two, but the thing I would like to ask about is this:
According to my Dad, they hit Natural Gas almost everywhere they drilled in Eastern Kentucky.
Because of the market in the day, the NG was completely without market value.
Fast forward to 2009.
My sister retired with her husband to a farm in Eastern Kentucky last summer and they needed to drill a water well.
It took them three tries to drill a well that wasn't "polluted" by NG.
I asked them why they didn't tap the NG well and use it for energy and they said they already had electricity. (go figure)
My questions about free NG and energy independence were tossed aside like I was some nut case.

Soooooo...
Does anyone have info on NG available to drill into and tap?
Problems, difficulties, restrictions, locations, etc.
I had been planning Arkansas as my bug out location and have secured property there, but given this new info I am considering a more easterly move.

[Mark Rose]

Unpurified natural gas can be EXTREMELY dangerous. What might start off as fairly harmless gas can turn deadly. The danger is hydrogen sulfide, aka H₂S gas. When H₂S gets in contact with water it forms sulferic acid --  including in your lungs. Natural gas wells that start off as sweet (less than 5 ppm H₂S) can turn sour over time. Levels over 10 ppm cause eye irritation, levels over 150 ppm actually knock your sense of smell out, and levels over 500 or so are fatal -- so you could be exposed to toxic gas without noticing it.

It's certainly possible to still use the gas, but it's not something you want to play without expert advice.

Getting H₂S certification to work out in the oil fields in Alberta was certainly informative.

[Hare of Caerbannog]

Actually I worked with H2S gas quite extensively in Bakersfield oil fields and Trona CA and know its tendencies well and I know that's not a problem in Eastern Kentucky.
So leaving mythology, what are the REAL reasons a person can't tap into natural methane?
Of course you want to control the release of the gas and not breathe it.
No one is suggesting we stand around and huff well gas.
But what about controlled release and controlled (as in a simple valve) feed into a generator?

[Mark Rose]

Actually I worked with H2S gas quite extensively in Bakersfield oil fields and Trona CA and know its tendencies well and I know that's not a problem in Eastern Kentucky.
So leaving mythology, what are the REAL reasons a person can't tap into natural methane?
Of course you want to control the release of the gas and not breathe it.
No one is suggesting we stand around and huff well gas.
But what about controlled release and controlled (as in a simple valve) feed into a generator?

Well besides any royalty issues, I don't imagine it would be too difficult.