# Unconventional oil and gas: Overview

Squeezing fuel from rock that will not let it go

Source page: https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/overview/

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?](https://www.eia.gov/tools/FAQs/faq.php?id=907&t=8), 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 oil](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/crude_oil/)[Gas Natural gas](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/natural_gas/)

#### Also in Fossil and nuclear
[CM Coal mining](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_coal_mining/)[OGw Conventional oil and gas production](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_conv/)[NFR Nuclear fission reactors](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_fission/)

Explore paths from here
 More on this tile in the tabs above: efficiency, techniques, resources and labour, impact on the biosphere.

## Other sections

- [Summary](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/index.md)
- [Correlation](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/correlation/index.md)
- [Efficiency](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/efficiency/index.md)
- [Techniques](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/techniques/index.md)
- [Resources and labour](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/resources/index.md)
- [Impact on the biosphere](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/biosphere/index.md)
- [Relationships](https://www.materialinsights.org/energy/e_oil_gas_unconv/links/index.md)