http://www.stockhouse.com/Columnists/2009/Dec/4/Future-of-America-s-natural-gas

I like what they mention in a certain section. If you scroll down, you'll see a "losers" and "winners" section.

Here is what it says:

Losers:

· Gas-weighted companies are in trouble today.

· Small companies with debt, I think are finished – if they’re gas producers.

· Companies only operating in North America are going to have a tough time. If you're offshore, you're probably in a lot better shape.

· Companies with no technical expertise – producing gas from shale requires a team of people who actually understand what they’re doing.

Most small companies just can't play in that sandbox. When things go bad, they go bad. You have to be able to drill a number of wells successfully to be successful. If you can only drill one well and you have no operational experience, you should just take your wagon and go home. That leads me to the winners.

Winners:

· Big companies with some capital to play with.

· Companies with operational experience, or companies that have the depth to develop that operational experience.

· Companies with early land position and low finding and development costs or finding and exploration costs.

· Technically competent companies.

· Small companies who have decent land and have big-company partners.

Some small companies got an early land position, opening the door for big companies to farm in on them. These are perfect situations. The big company is paying the load, and the small company will still get the advantage.