As for Lafitte, while there have been gas shows in the mud logs, Moffett is afraid to read too much into them until the well has been logged.

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The council said two companies were applying to Mendip district council for permission to test drill for the gas, which is found in shale formed from deposits of mud, silt, clay and organic matter.

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Importantly, this mud also acts as a kind of plug in the hole, preventing any oil and gas from blasting up out of the hole.

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The upside that the market has overlooked with so much focus on Europe, elections, and quantitative easing hogging the headlines, is that natural gas has bounced 50% off its lows from April, and many of these stocks are still stuck in the mud.

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