Shale play

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A shale play is an area containing layers of fine-grained sedimentary rock formed by silt and clay. These areas can contain hydrocarbons (the main component of petroleum, coal, and natural gas), which are generated from organic matter that is heated and pressurized over millions of years.^[1][2]

Background

Black-colored shale, which is formed from deposited sediments in environments with little oxygen, contains organic matter. If this matter is preserved and heated over time, it is transformed into oil and natural gas. These resources are difficult to extract because they are trapped in small pores, which prevent hydrocarbons from moving easily through shale rock.^[3][4]

In shale formations, shale operators use mechanical energy to create additional outlets where the oil or gas can be collected. One type of mechanical energy used is hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking). The process involves injecting fluid into subterranean shale formations at high pressure. The high-pressure fluid produces a fracture network that allows crude oil and natural gas inside dense rocks to flow into a wellbore and be extracted at the surface. The type of fluid used depends on the geological structure of the shale layers. In general, the fluid (known as frac fluid) contains between 98 percent and 99.5 percent water and sand. Between 0.5 percent and 2 percent of the fluid is composed of chemical additives, which are used to stop the growth of microorganisms, prevent well casing corrosion, increase the rate at which the fluid is injected, and reduce pressure, among other things.^[5]

A second type of technology to extract energy from shale is horizontal drilling, which allows operators to access oil and natural gas reserves that are not directly below a drilling site. Operators drill a vertical well in the shallow section of a shale formation. Drillers then create a horizontally curved hole to access natural gas within the shale formation. Horizontal wells are used to maximize fractures so gas within shale rock can be retrieved. Horizontal drilling generally occurs alongside fracking.^[6][7]

Large-scale production of shale gas began during the 1980s and 1990s when the Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation explored for shale gas in the Barnett Shale in northern-central Texas, which was the first major natural gas field in shale rock.^[2]

The map below shows the seven largest shale plays in the United States as of 2016.^[2]

See also

Footnotes

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