Unconventional oil and gas: Overview
Squeezing fuel from rock that will not let it go
What this tile covers Methods for oil and gas that do not flow easily. Share of use 8.9% share of world energy supply (2024)Share of world total energy supply captured or extracted by each method, 2024 (latest year where noted). Denominator is the Energy Institute Statistical Review 2025 total of 592.2 EJ (physical energy content method); electricity from wind, solar, hydro and geothermal is counted at output, nuclear at reactor heat. Heat and biomass flows outside EI's total are set against the same 592.2 EJ. US tight oil 8.32 Mb/d and Alberta oil sands 3.72 Mb/d of 101.81 Mb/d world oil (23.5 EJ), plus US shale gas at 78% of US output, about a quarter of world gas (29.0 EJ) = 52.5 EJ of 592.2 EJ (calculated). Lower bound: excludes Argentina, China, Canadian tight gas and others; mixes 2023 to 2025 inputs. Source: FAQ: How much shale gas is produced in the United States?, US Energy Information Administration.
Key facts
| Output | Liquid and gaseous fuel |
Included from the reference tables
- Hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling
- Enhanced oil recovery (water, CO2, steam)
- Oil sands mining and SAGD
- Coalbed methane
- Methane hydrate pilots
Linked to the material world
Oil Crude oilGas Natural gasAlso in Fossil and nuclear
CM Coal miningOGw Conventional oil and gas productionNFR Nuclear fission reactorsExplore paths from here
More on this tile in the tabs above: efficiency, techniques, resources and labour, impact on the biosphere.