GEOL 100 Chapter Notes - Chapter 18.3: Shale Gas, Source Rock, Unconventional Oil
Document Summary
Instead of migrating up to anticlines and other geologic structures, some natural gas and oil can remain trapped in shale and other source rocks. Petroleum in these rocks is extracted through hydraulic fracturing (fracking) Conventional oil and gas: that found in typical geologic traps (anticlines) and that can be explored by traditional methods. Most form when organic material in source rocks is buried and heated, generating oil and gas that can migrate from the source rock toward the surface. Unconventional oil and gas: less mobile, have to be explored and extracted by newer techniques. Rocks have enough porosity and permeability to allow oil or gas to accumulate and flow through. Since oil and gas are lighter than water it rises upward. Either is trapped below the surface or appears as seeps on the surface. Setting of shale gas and shale oil: Shale source rock contains sufficient organic material to generate oil and gas.
