- Shale gas
refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations.
- Shales are
fine-grained sedimentary rocks that can be rich sources of petroleum
and natural gas.
- Over the
past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic
fracturing has allowed access to large volumes of shale gas that
were previously uneconomical to produce.
- The
production of natural gas from shale formations has rejuvenated the
natural gas industry in the United States.
- The shale
acts as both the source and the reservoir for the natural gas.
- Older
shale gas wells were vertical while more recent wells are primarily
horizontal and need artificial stimulation, like hydraulic
fracturing, to produce.
- Only shale
formations with certain characteristics will produce gas.
- The most
significant trend in US natural gas production is the rapid rise in
production from shale formations.
- In large
measure this is attributable to significant advances in the use of
horizontal drilling and well stimulation technologies and refinement
in the cost-effectiveness of these technologies.
- Hydraulic
fracturing is the most significant of these.
- Production
of shale gas is expected to increase from a 2007 US total of 1.4 Tcf
to 4.8 Tcf in 2020. The DOE report states that shale gas production
potential of 3 to 4 Tcf per year may be sustainable for decades.
- In
November 2008, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA)
published a report, "Availability, Economics and Production
Potential of North American Unconventional Natural Gas Supplies,"
that included an updated resource base for natural gas in the United
States and Canada.
- The INGAA
study states that the assessment of shale gas potential in the
United States and Canada is a work in progress and there is a long
way to go to understand remaining potential and implications for
future natural gas production.
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