Natural gas resources which require greater than industry-standard levels of technology or investment to harvest are known as “unconventional gas” resources. The three most common types of unconventional gas resources are tight sands, coalbed methane (CBM), and gas shales. Though these natural gas resources were historically overlooked in search of more economical, conventional reserves, the growing maturity of these plays in the U.S. has led to increased investment in unconventional gas exploration. In 2005, unconventional gas represented 44% of U.S. lower-48 onshore production.

Advanced Resources and our predecessor companies have been at the forefront of unconventional gas technology and resource development since 1970, performing some of the earliest gas resource assessments and developing the first numerical simulator for the analysis of coalbed methane (CBM) and gas shale reservoirs, (COMET3). Advanced Resources has experience, in one form or another, in almost every unconventional gas basin in the world.

U.S. Coalbed Methane Basins

Annual U.S. Coalbed Methane Production

U.S. Gas Shale Basins

Annual U.S. Gas Shale Production

U.S. Tight Sand Basins

Annual U.S. Tight Sand Production

A listing of selected unconventional gas publications, papers and reports is provided in the Literature page under the following sections.

Unconventional Gas
Tight Sands
Coalbed Methane
Gas Shales
Enhanced Oil Recovery
Carbon Sequestration
Gas Storage
Other