An investigation by the New York Times this week raised questions about whether the natural gas industry has had too much influence on policymaking by federal agencies, and whether that sway has led investors, members of Congress and others to be overly bullish about the energy source.

The article focused on the Energy Information Agency, the research arm of the Department of Energy, which writes annual reports on the industry that are considered authoritative. Ian Urbina wrote that, in its reports, the EIA has:

[S]teadily increased its estimates of domestic supplies of natural gas, and investors and the oil ...