Shale formation. After the Drake Oil Well in 1859, however, shale gas production was overshadowed by much larger volumes produced from conventional gas reservoirs. In 1996, shale gas wells in the United States produced , 1.6% of US gas production; by 2006, production had more than tripled to per year, 5.9% of US gas production. By 2005, there were 14,990 shale gas wells in the US. A record 4,185 shale gas wells were completed in the US in 2007. In 2007, shale gas fields included the No. 2 (Barnett/Newark East) and No. 13 (Antrim) sources of natural gas in the United States in terms of gas volumes produced. A study by MIT says that natural gas will provide 40% of America's energy needs in the future, from 20% today, thanks in part to the abundant supply of shale gas. With 4% annual production growth expected between 2010 and 2030, shale gas has been "a veritable game changer" for the United States. Shale gas, especially from the Marcellus Shale, have tested up to 16% ethane content. This low priced feedstock for ethylene synthesis has led to a "frenzy" of new ethylene plants in the US. Asia Turkey According to data obtained from the US energy information. Turkey has 679 billion cubic meter shale gas reserves, especially in the Southeastern Anatolia and Thrace regions, 651 billion cubic meters can be drilled in the first stage. China China has set its companies a target of producing 30 billion cubic meters a year from shale, equivalent to almost half the country's gas consumption in 2008. Potential gas-bearing shales are said to be widespread in China, although as yet undeveloped. In November 2009, US President Barack Obama agreed to share US gas-shale technology with China, and to promote US investment in Chinese shale-gas development. China launched a national shale gas research centre in August 2010. Based on existing reports, China may have 30 trillion cubic metres of shale gas reserves. In a 2011 report, the US Energy Information Administration estimated that China had 1,275 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas, the largest reserves of all countries surveyed in that report. As of April 2012, Shell has already drilled a few wells in Sichuan. Notwithstanding the commercial production status reached in 2013, shale gas output remains marginal and at a preliminary stage in China. There are still many challenges to develop this type of unconventional