shale gas

plural shale gases

1. countableuncountableNatural gas extracted from shale.

   The UK’s underground shale gas reserves may deliver only a fraction of the gas promised by fracking firms and government ministers, according to a study.

   2019 August 20, Jillian Ambrose, “UK shale gas reserves may be fraction of what is claimed – study”, in The Guardian

   2 more examples

   In a report released on Monday, the world's foremost energy watchdog, the International Energy Agency (IEA), said the US would benefit from so-called unconventional sources of oil and gas, including shale gas and shale oil, derived from fracking – blasting dense rocks apart to release the fossil fuels trapped within.

   2012 November 12, Fiona Harvey, “US can become world's biggest oil producer in a decade, says IEA”, in The Guardian

   The shale gas boom of the past five years took the US by surprise. Gas prices there have plunged and electricity production is shifting fast from coal to gas-fired power stations. This has had a huge effect on all parts of the US economy, and is changing politics globally.

   2013 January 16, Fiona Harvey, “Peak oil theories 'increasingly groundless', says BP chief”, in the Guardian