Initial results were good, as the air injection almost immediately flattened the well's naturaldecline and later boosted production from 460 barrels a day to 650.
It predicted a general decline in domestic production of natural gas through 2010, with the ultimate possibility of its phase-out as a significant fuel.
Much of the uptick in production is a direct result of the sharp decline in the price of natural gas which has been largely triggered by the unprecedented growth in shale gas production.