Fact Sheet | Shale Gas & Oil Terminology Explained: Reserves and Estimates

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting fluid into a body of rock to create fissures from which natural gas and oil can be extracted. The technology has been credited with making available an extremely large amount of previously unrecoverable fossil fuels. Estimates of the amount of natural gas and oil made available through this technology vary, partly because there are several different kinds of estimates, and various categories of resources. This factsheet defines some of the most common terms used to describe the size, scope and recoverability of shale gas and oil.

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