Unconventional Gas takes centre stage at Middle East events – Hugh Fraser previews events in Abu Dhabi and Istanbul

Unconventional Gas will be the topic of two regional events being held over the next few weeks. SPE's Unconventional Gas Middle East Conference and Exhibition is being hosted in Abu Dhabi between 23-25 January and then the focus moves to the EMEA Unconventional Gas Exploration and Production Forum in Istanbul between 6-8 February.

Unconventional Gas (UG) is increasingly featuring on the supply side of the oil and gas supply and demand equation and, politically, is reducing the energy supply security risk of the western world, especially the USA. From a commercial point of view the flood of LNG and UG has been a major driver on gas prices in recent years.

So what is UG? Most industry experts break down UG into the following segments:-

  • Deep Natural Gas – where the gas is located below "conventional" levels usually deemed to be 15,000 feet underground;
  • Tight Natural Gas – which is harboured in hard rock or in impermeable, non-porous sandstone or limestone;
  • Shale Gas – which is gas located in layers of fine grained sedimentary (shale) rock;
  • Coal Seam Methane – which is natural gas trapped within coal seam deposits;
  • Geopressurized Gas – which is gas harboured under very high pressures; and
  • Methane Hydrates – which is methane trapped within frozen water lattices.

The common "denominators" of UG types is that they tend to be expensive to produce and demand high levels of technology. From, a legal perspective, probably the most significant differentiator from conventional gas operations is the fact that the exploitation of shale gas is subject of intense environmental concerns arising from the hydraulic fracturing processes deployed to extract the gas and their impact on underground water resources.

HFI continues to expand its expertise in UG legal issues to respond to the growing impact of UG on the oil and gas industry and Hugh Fraser, Managing Partner, will be a speaker at the Istanbul event.

Further information can be obtained from:-

Hugh Fraser – Group Managing Partner - hugh.fraser@hfi-international.com