The American Shale Boom Has Barely Even Begun

AP/Al GrilloThis week, we explained why America's shale oil and gas boom is a true-blue economic game changer, and not just a flash in the pan.

It comes down to the fact that we've barely scratched the surface of all the fuel beneath our feet.

This morning, the EIA provided another reason why the boom is only getting started.

Pennsylvania's natural gas production rose 66% in 2012, despite reduced drilling activity, the agency reports. Here's the chart:

How is this possible?

It turns out that until recently, the state only possessed "limited pipeline and processing infrastructure."

So a lot of wells were drilled, but couldn't come online.

That began to change last year:

As infrastructure expanded, these wells were gradually connected to pipelines, sustaining natural gas production increases through 2012 despite the decline in new natural gas well starts.

And there's still lots of infrastructure left to be built — including, for instance, the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline, which would add links to existing lines to better connect Pennsylvania production with Gulf refineries.

The boom literally has miles to go.