Shale Hydrocarbon

Shale is the earths most common sedimentary rock and in an oil and gas context often forms the geological seal which retains or caps the reservoirs hydrocarbon element. In certain conditions organically rich shales can act as both the source rock and the reservoir for hydrocarbons.

Modern technologies including horizontal drilling and hydro fracturing have enabled hydrocarbons to be commercially extracted from such shales - the Barnett Shale in the Dallas Fort Worth basin of North Central Texas as an example.

For more information, please see Schlumberger October 2005 White Paper