Shale gas: New buzzword in New Delhi

Exploiting gas out of shale formations (or shale gas) is what policy makers in New Delhi are exciting about this season.

Interest has been generated in New Delhi after the US recently turned self sufficient in gas production because the country was able to dramatically raise its shale gas output. Today, as much as 17% of US gas production comes from shale gas. Canada too has began shale gas production while countries like China, Australia and European countries are venturing in a big way into commercial exploitation of shale gas.

Shale gas has become a source of intense interest because there are more shale gas reservoirs than conventional gas reservoirs in the world. A massive 32,500 trillion cubic feet of gas has been identified worldwide from gas reservoirs.

Shale gas is defined as natural gas from shale formations. Shale gas deposits are difficult to characterize overall, but in general are often lower in resource concentration, more dispersed over, large areas, and require well stimulation or some other extraction or conversion technology. Older shale gas wells were vertical while more recent wells are primarily horizontal and need artificial stimulation, like hydraulic fracturing, to produce.