It is a well known fact that the worlds natural gas resources are drying up. Some would even say that our supply of natural gas resources has peaked. So what may we do to fix this problem? Our dependence on natural gas isn't going to stop. Maybe it's time we begin looking into unconventional gas. Unconventional gas may be the answer, but what is it?
Unconventional gas is natural gas resources that are not found in the usual places natural gas is found, it is typically found in such places as tight sands, coal beds and shale beds. So, what makes unconventional gas, well unconventional and an often overlooked source of natural gas? Mainly, unconventional gas needs unconventional solutions to be retrieved for our uses.
Natural Gas -v- Unconventional Gas
Natural gas is made by thousands of years of pressure and heat on organic material trapped in rock. Over time, the gas is pushed up through the rocks and a "pool" of natural gas if formed, which is then drilled to release the gas for our use. Unconventional gas isn't found in pools. There isn't a way for unconventional gas to be pushed through the rock or material it is trapped in.
Information and expertise in extracting the gas from the particles they are trapped in are scarce around the world. Outside the U.S., unconventional gas has been overlooked and understudied. With the worlds dependence on natural gas, this is the time for companies to consider ways of accessing unconventional gas.
Types of Unconventional Gas
Tight sands gas is unconventional gas that is formed in sandstone or carbonate. Coal bed methane is gas trapped in coal deposits and found in the coal particles. Shale bed gas is found in fine shale rock and is trapped in clay particles. All that natural gas is there for world usage right? Unfortunately, all of these materials have a low permeability, which means they can't allow the gas to flow through and be released into pools. That's why it's unconventional gas. More research and development must be done to locate a way to retrieve the gas from the above materials.
So, even though you may have heard doom and gloom about our natural gas resources, there is an answer. Unconventional gas has started to garner more interest the world over as a viable way to supply the demand of natural gas. Many companies are developing and researching cost effective solutions to harvest unconventional gas. The demand for natural gas is growing over oil as an option due to the fact it's a cleaner fuel, and as unconventional gas grows interest it will still be that way.
Unfortunately, the cost involved in harvesting unconventional gas is high, and that's why unconventional gas has yet to hit its stride. In the future and newer technologies are developed unconventional gas very well may become the norm the world over. Maybe unconventional gas will be conventional sometime in the near future.