CHAPTER 3. Exploration for Unconventional Hydrocarbons: Shale Gas and Shale Oil

Over the last 25 years the development of unconventional hydrocarbons, shale gas and shale oil, has come to dominate the oil industry, particularly in the USA where their development has dramatically overturned the decline in domestic production, with self-sufficiency in gas production attained. Exploration for and production of shale-based resources requires a very different approach and mind-set from that required for conventional resource exploration and production. The aim of this chapter is to discuss the geology of shale resources and the techniques developed for their exploration and exploitation.