George W. Bush

PITTSBURGH — Former President George W. Bush and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett are scheduled to speak at a shale gas drilling conference in Pittsburgh.

The DUG East conference is taking place today and Friday, and it focuses on developments in producing natural gas and oil from the Marcellus and Utica shale rock formations. Corbett and Bush are scheduled to speak today.

Top executives from drilling companies such as Consol Energy, Range Resources and other companies are also scheduled to speak.

A boom in drilling has turned the Marcellus Shale into the most productive natural gas field in the nation over the last five years.

The Marcellus Shale extends under large parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and New York.