The U.S. Department of Energy and the Gas Research Institute are sponsoring research in the production of natural gas from low permeability reservoirs in the western U.S., the so-called "tight gas sands." Work is concentrated in the areas of resource characterization and the development of technology to stimulate economic recovery of gas from these reservoirs. Key to the success of these programs is the conduct of field experiments to confirm results of laboratory investigations and to apply and evaluate new technologies. Field tests of massive hydraulic fracturing conducted to date by DOE have been cost-shared with industry operators. Future emphasis will be directed toward fully government funded multi-well experiments. An integral portion of the program is the transfer of new technology wd test results to industry, in order to accelerate commercialization of the tight gas resource.