shale gas

Noun

shale gas (countable and uncountable, plural shale gases)

1. Natural gas extracted from shale.
   • 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...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