Eastern gas shales research has been successful in characterizing the geology, geochemistry, and resource magnitude of the Appalachian Basin, and in defining the gas-producing mechanism and drainage pattern in an established area of production near the middle of the basin. In addition, an offset well test (two wells offset to a producing well) established reservoir flow behavior and identified the potential for infill drilling of existing shale gas fields. Infill drilling may be a cost-effective strategy to exploit gas resources within known producing areas. In areas of established production (eastern Kentucky, southern and western West Virginia, and southern Ohio), the 3 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) produced to date could be increased thirtyfold without further exploration. Currently, research focuses on fundamental reservoir properties from wells of opportunity, and on the installation of a second offset well test site for understanding reservoir flow behavior. This research entails gathering reservoir property data from 10 sites that have favorable geology and geochemistry in areas of nonestablished production. This information will quantify the magnitude of matrix and fracture porosity and permeability and reservoir anisotropy, and will improve the ability to quantify technically recoverable resources for these areas of unknown potential. Also under study are methods to increase recovery efficiency from a directionally drilled well in an area of historical production, wherein less than 10% of the available gas-in-place is typically produced by stimulated vertical wells. 6 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.