Shale Gas
Organic shales are an important prospective source of natural gas production in Canada. Gas is stored in shales as both conventional free gas and as adsorbed gas, or stored within the organic material. Gas from shales, like gas from coal, or coalbed methane (CBM), could offer consumers another clean fuel alternative.
Factors driving research of shale gas include:
- a large shale gas resource
- increased demand for gas in North America
- high production rates from successful shale gas projects in the United States
- estimated large amounts of shale gas resources and early success in Canada
Like coals, the organic material in shales can potentially be a sink for capturing and sequestering CO2. This process could also potentially increase the methane recovery from shales. Another area of research is to evaluate stimulating biogenic gas production from organic-rich shales. This process has shown promise in laboratory conditions and several organizations are planning field tests in the near future.
