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Exploration and production of natural gas and oil within Europe has in the past been mainly focused on conventional resources that are readily available and relatively easy to develop. This type of fuel is typically found in sandstone, siltstone and limestone reservoirs. Conventional extraction enables oil or gas to flow readily into boreholes. As opportunities for this type of domestic extraction are becoming increasingly limited to meet demand, EU countries are now turning to exploring unconventional natural gas resources, such as coalbed methane, tight gas and in particular shale gas. These are termed ‘unconventional’ resources because the porosity, permeability, fluid trapping mechanism, or other characteristics of the reservoir or rock formation from which the gas is extracted differ greatly from conventional sandstone and carbonate reservoirs.
Preliminary indications are that extensive shale gas resources are present in Europe (although this would need to be confirmed by exploratory drilling). To date, it appears that only Poland and the UK have performed high-volume hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction (at one well in the UK and six wells in Poland);
