Shale is one of the Earth’s most common sedimentary rocks. It is a fine-grain rock composed mainly of clay flakes and tiny fragments of other minerals. Shale can be a gas reservoir, but only formations with certain characteristics are viable for development.
Thermogenic (from the Greek word meaning ‘formed by heat’) gas forms when organic matter in shale is broken down at high temperatures, often a result of burial deep underground. The gas is then reabsorbed by organic material to trap the gas within the shale.
Shale gas is the most commonly known unconventional gas. The United States has experienced a shale gas revolution, in which shale gas production increased from 11 percent of overall U.S. gas production in 2008 to more than 20 percent in 2010, and it may approach 50 percent by 2035.
Globally, initial studies have identified nearly 700 shales in 142 basins around the world.
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