"Reserves of oil and gas that can be developed using current technology are 35% greater in 2013 than in 2011, according to a new report by the Energy Information Administration, the research branch of the Energy Department."

"The rise in estimated domestic reserves to 223 billion barrels of oil equivalents, which include crude oil and gas, stems in large part from the inclusion of reserves found in shale formations. Increased use of production methods such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, have made oil and gas trapped in tight geological formations economically recoverable.

The United States is second to Russia in the amount of technically recoverable barrels of shale oil, at 58 billion. It is fourth among countries with reserves of technically recoverable shale gas reserves, with 665 trillion cubic feet. China has the largest shale gas reserves, 1,115 trillion cubic feet."

Neela Banerjee reports for the Tribune Washington bureau June 10, 2013. [2]