Sound reducing blankets surround the perimeter at a Barnett Shale natural gas well December 19, 2008 in residential Cleburne, Texas.

Two floor hands secure a steel pipe attachment on a natural gas drilling platform December 17, 2008 in Fort Worth, Texas. Drilled in a commercial area adjacent to the Interstate-35W expressway, the Barnett Shale well is owned by Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

A floor hand moves steel drilling pipe on a natural gas drilling platform December 17, 2008 in the Barnett Shale field of Fort Worth, Texas. State law in Texas gives owners of mineral rights the prerogative over owners of surface land.

A floor crew pulls steel pipe out of a natural gas well December 16, 2008 in the Barnett Shale field of Fort Worth, Texas. The Barnett Shale formation, discovered in the early 1950's, covers 5,000 square miles underlying the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

A driller monitors his touch screen control panel on a natural gas drilling platform December 16, 2008 in Fort Worth, Texas. Drilling technology and design has evolved with more precision for directional or horizontal drilling.

A 150-foot derrick towers over traffic along Interstate 35W on a natural gas well site December 16, 2008 in Fort Worth, Texas. The well, with a view of the Fort Worth skyline, is owned by the Chesapeake Energy Corporation.

A billboard advertises advice for natural gas wells in the Barnett Shale field December 19, 2008 in Cleburne, Texas.

Work crews assemble a natural gas drilling rig on a well site December 18, 2008 outside Fort Worth, Texas city limits. Inside Fort Worth's city limits, urban gas wells are required to be 600 feet from the nearest homes, schools, churches, hospitals and parks.

Gary Hogan, a member of the Fort Worth Gas Drilling Task Force, stands outside two producing gas wells drilled near his home in the Barnett Shale field December 18, 2008 in Fort Worth, Texas. Hogan claims not to be against gas drilling but has stood for a more responsible energy plan for the Fort Worth area.

A residential neighborhood lies adjacent to a natural gas well site December 19, 2008 outside of Cleburne, Texas, 30 miles south of Fort Worth.