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This paper aims to review the quad-porosity shale system from a production standpoint. Understanding the complex but coupled flow mechanisms in such reservoirs is essential to design appropriate completions and further, optimally produce them. Dual-porosity and dual permeability models are most commonly used to describe a typical shale gas reservoir.

Characterization of such reservoirs with extremely low permeability does not aptly capture the physics and complexities of gas storage and flow through their existing nanopores. This paper reviews the methods and experimental studies used to describe the flow mechanisms of gas through such systems, and critically recommends the direction in which this work could be extended. A quad-porosity shale system is defined not just as porosity in the matrix and fracture, but as a combination of multiple porosity values.

It has been observed from studies conducted that shale gas production modeled with conventional simulator/model is seen to be much lower than actually observed in field data. This paper reviews the various flow mechanisms in shale nanopores by capturing the physics behind the actual process. The contribution of Knudson diffusion and gas slippage, gas desorption and gas diffusion from Kerogen to total production is studied in detail.

The results observed from experimental studies and simulation runs indicate that the above effects should be considered while modeling and making production forecast for such reservoirs.

Large-scale shale gas reserves have recently been identified under many parts of the UK and development pressure for detailed exploration and possibly the exploitation of these reserves by hydraulic fracturing, popularly described as fracking is growing rapidly and seems to have UK Government support. With this in mind the purpose of this paper is to offer a general review of the possible development of shale gas reserves by fracking within the UK and to explore a number of the planning and property issues associated with such development.

The briefing note begins with an outline of the characteristics of shale oil and the fracking process and of the initial developments within the UK and discusses some of the planning and property issues associated with such developments. The note is based upon information drawn from the internet sources, principally national and local governments, business organisations and environmental and community pressure groups and on visits to a small number of sites of exploratory fracking.

The note reveals that planning applications for exploratory and production fracking will be determined at local authority level rather as Nationally Significant Infrastructure Projects determined by the Secretary of State. In determining planning applications local authorities have received planning guidance from the UK Government and will need to consider a wide range of environmental factors but some critics suggest that the guidance is not comprehensive and that it is weighted in favour of granting permission. A number of property issues are also identified possible effects of fracking on property prices, the availability of mortgages and the insurance of properties.

This paper provides an accessible review of the development of shale gas resources by fracking within the UK and as such it will be of value to planners, developers, land and property professionals and students.

In recent years, to solve the contradiction between energy supply and demand, the Chinese Government has vigorously promoted shale gas development. With the rapid development of the shale gas industry, the environmental impact problems have become increasingly serious. Therefore, it is of great significance to carry out a comprehensive environmental impact assessment of shale gas development. This study aims to provide a theoretical basis for enterprises to make development decisions on shale gas projects by constructing a model of comprehensive environmental impact assessment for shale gas development.

In this paper, the comprehensive environmental impact factors of shale gas development are analyzed from the two aspects of the natural environment and macro environment, and the index system of comprehensive environmental impact assessment for shale gas development including 7 secondary indicators and 24 tertiary indicators is constructed. Owing to the fact that qualitative indicators are difficult to quantify in the evaluation process, the method of intuitionistic fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (IFAHP) is adopted for evaluation. This method (IFAHP) can delicately describe the hesitancy degree of the decision-makers in the process of assigning a weight to the indicators, and make the weight assignment of each index more accurate. Furthermore, this method overcomes the shortcomings of the conventional methods, such as the complexity of calculation and the large amount of calculation.

The evaluation model is applied to a shale gas platform drilling project in Southwest China. Based on the ratings from 13 experts, the comprehensive environmental impact assessment grade of this project is good, indicating that the shale gas development project is feasible. The result is basically in line with the actual situation.

Based on the consideration of the natural environmental impacts of shale gas development, this paper also has considered the macro environmental impact of shale gas development, and has established the index system of comprehensive environmental impact assessment for shale gas development from the two aspects of the natural environment and macro environment. To overcome such difficulties as incomplete evaluation by decision-makers, cumbersome calculation process and a large amount of calculation, this paper has adopted the method of IFAHP to evaluate and has established a comprehensive environmental impact assessment model for shale gas development based on IFAHP.

Large-scale shale gas reserves have recently been identified under many parts of the UK. Development pressure for detailed exploration and possibly the exploitation of these reserves by hydraulic fracturing, popularly described as fracking is growing rapidly and seems to have UK Government support. With this in mind the purpose of this paper is to offer a general review of the possible development of shale gas reserves by fracking within the UK and to explore a number of the property and investment issues associated with such development.

The briefing note begins with an outline of the characteristics of shale oil and the fracking process and of the initial developments within the UK and discusses some of the property and investment issues associated with such developments. The note is based upon information drawn from the internet sources, principally national and local governments, property, financial and environmental organisations and on visits to a small number of sites of exploratory fracking.

The paper identifies a wide range of potential environmental impacts associated with the development of shale gas reserves by fracking and reveals growing awareness in the UK that such development could have a major impact on property values, on the availability of mortgages and on property insurance. At the same time the paper also suggests that financial institutions are increasingly taking steps to minimise risks to their investments and reputation from potential environmental impacts.

The paper suggests a number of issues property managers and consultants will need to address in monitoring the impact of shale gas development by fracking on property values and it offers some guidelines to investment managers.

This paper provides an accessible review of the development of shale gas resources by fracking within the UK and as such it will be of value to a range of property and investment management professionals and to students pursuing property and investment courses.

The purpose of this paper was to examine UK shale gas viability. The recent commitment to shale gas exploration in the UK through fracking has given rise to well-publicised economic benefits and environmental concerns. There is potential for shale gas exploration in different parts of the UK over the next couple of decades. As argued in this study, if it does, it would transform the energy market and provide long-term energy security at affordable cost.

Interviews with senior practitioners and local communities were recorded, transcribed and entered into qualitative research software Nvivo. Validity and reliability were achieved by first assessing the plausibility in terms of already existing knowledge on some of the economic and environmental issues raised by participants.

Findings from this study suggest that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities. Participants further suggested that the integration of shale gas technology will protect consumers against rising energy prices and ensure that government does not get exposed to long-term geopolitical risks.

The present study corroborates the position that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities.

The present study confirms that the government is committed to ensuring that the nation maximises the opportunity that cost-effective shale gas technology presents, not just investment, cheap energy bills and jobs but providing an energy mix that will underpin the UK long-term economic prosperity.

The present study corroborates the position that environmental, health and safety risks can be managed effectively provided operational best practices are implemented and monitored by the Health and Safety Executive; Department of Energy, Climate Change; and the Mineral Planning Authorities. As shown in this study, the UK has a very strong regulatory regime compared to USA; therefore, environmental, health and safety risks will be very well managed and unlikely to escalate into the crisis being envisioned.

While the use of the pragmatic sociology of critique has enjoyed increasing academic popularity, the relationship between justification and broader power relations remains unclear. Recent attention to the concept of ‘domination’ suggests the need for a greater focus on how employed public goods reinforce prevailing social arrangements. In this article we explore the public debate over the expansion of hydraulic fracturing of shale gas (so-called ‘fracking’) in the United Kingdom (UK). This technology has generated significant debate and controversy. Through a detailed examination of public inquiries into the technology we explore how different actors employ discursive strategies to justify their claims for the expansion or rejection of fracking. Through this analysis, the article identifies how some of these justifications enjoy precedence over others within the prevailing neoliberal political regime. By explaining how such a political regime is constituted, our study contributes to better understanding how different justifications support hegemonic political ideologies.

Based on core description, gas logging and laboratory analysis, this paper aims to study the controlling effect of the types of shale sedimentary microfacies in coal formations over shale reservoirs using the example of Shanxi formation in Northern Ordos Basin.

According to core observation, the authors selected typical samples of rock types for thin section analysis to determine the micro features and compositions of rocks.

By using core observation, we found that fine lithology in Shanxi formation included major shale, carbonaceous shale, partially carbonaceous shale, partially silty shale and silty shale with colors of gray, dark gray, black and/or gray. Shanxi Formation shale are deposited in plant-rich and plant-poor swamps, interdistributary depressions of delta plains, interfluvial depressions of meandering rivers as well as microfacies environment of natural levees and the distal crevasse splay.

Currently, the research on the shale gas in Shanxi Formation in the Ordos Basin is still in its infancy. There is yet no research on the fine-grained partition of the sedimentary facies in coal accumulation environment of Shanxi formation and the controlling effect of sedimentary microfacies over shale reservoirs.

The development of the Marcellus Shale Play has altered the geography of production in the USA, particularly in the Northeast natural gas market. The purpose of this paper is to examine its impact on an already integrated industry.

The authors utilize the methodology of co-integration and focus on the geographic reach of the Marcellus region to examine movements of prices across the upstream, midstream and downstream segments of the industry.

The results of this paper indicate that prices across segments remain strongly co-integrated with the boom in production. The short-run dynamics, however, reveal a slower adjustment to the long-run equilibrium following the boom, particularly for wellhead to city-gate and wellhead to residential prices.

The growth in delivery infrastructure has not kept up with the boom in production creating bottlenecks. The supply shock brought about by the boom in production has not altered previously established co-integrating relationships but has altered the speeds of adjustment towards the long-run equilibrium.

This paper responds to recent calls for deeper scrutiny of the institutional contexts of citizen science. In the last few years, at least two dozen civil society organizations in New York and Pennsylvania have begun monitoring the watershed impacts of unconventional natural gas drilling, also known as “fracking.” This study examines the institutional logics that inform these citizen monitoring efforts and probes how relationships with academic science and the regulatory state affect the practices of citizen scientists. We find that the diverse practices of the organizations in the participatory water monitoring field are guided by logics of consciousness-raising, environmental policing, and science. Organizations that initiate monitoring projects typically attempt to combine two or more of these logics as they develop new practices in response to macro-level social and environmental changes. The dominant logic of the field remains unsettled, and many groups appear uncertain about whether and how their practices might have an influence. We conclude that the impacts of macro-level changes, such as the scientization of politics, the rise of neoliberal policy ideas, or even large-scale industrial transformations, are likely to be experienced in field-specific ways.

The development of oil shale has become a popular technique in the energy industry in recent years. Although more research attention has been paid to this topic, there are scanty studies on patent portfolios. This study aims to explore this current mainstream technique and the patent portfolios of oil shale developers and investigates the major assignees at present to find the technical development trend of oil shale as a reference for government, policy makers, investors and industrial strategic development.

This study applies correspondence analysis and K-means clustering analysis on data mining and probes into the competitive techniques and strategic groups of the main enterprises in the oil shale industry. In addition, by approval dates, this study analyzes technical directions and the development trends of the current main oil shale enterprises.

The findings show differences in the enterprises regarding technical positions and patent portfolio strategies.

Differential positioning analysis suggests the relative technical advantages of the various enterprises and evaluates the competition among oil shale enterprises.