How permeable is shale?

The permeability of argillaceous formations, although rarely measured and poorly understood, is commonly a critical parameter in analyses of subsurface flow. read more

Some of the clay minerals that occur in shale have the ability to absorb or adsorb large amounts of water, natural gas, ions, or other substances. This property of shale can enable it to selectively and tenaciously hold or freely release fluids or ions. read more

In General Shale reservoirs have very low or zero permeability. That's why we prefer hydraulic fracturing or horizontal Drilling in case of shale Reservoir to create artificial fractures which increase the permeability. read more

Pierre Shale, for example, which has a 10 -20 m 2 permeabil. ity at laboratory scale (region 8 in Figure 1), has a regional permeability of 10 -16 m 2 [Bredehoeft et al., 1983]. read more