Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources

Increasing amounts of unconventional fossil fuels are going to be required to help meet our energy needs. Unconventional hydrocarbons are basically hydrocarbons that are difficult to extract or need a specific synthesis, for example, biofuels or synthetic oil produced from coal using the Fischer–Tropsch method. This chapter discusses the exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons. Methane hydrates are classified separately and a special section is devoted to them. Coal bed methane is methane found in coal seams. It is formed either by biological processes (microbial action) or by thermal processes occurring at large depths where the temperature is high. Most of the methane is adsorbed in the coal and the remaining part is located in fractures in the coal bed. The positive aspect of exploiting unconventional hydrocarbons is that it delays further the time of depletion of fossil fuel resources.