Oil shale is a rock that contains significant amounts of organic material in the form of kerogen. Up to 1/3 of the rock can be solid kerogen. Liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons can be extracted from oil shale, but the rock must be heated and/or treated with solvents. This is usually much less efficient than drilling rocks…

Everyone has contact with products made from shale. If you live in a brick house, drive on a brick road, live in a house with a tile roof, or keep plants in “terra cotta” pots, you have daily contact with items that were probably made from shale. Many years ago these same items were made…

Some shales have special properties that make them important resources. Black shales contain organic material that sometimes breaks down to form natural gas or oil. Other shales can be crushed and mixed with water to produce clays that can be made into a variety of useful objects. Conventional Oil and Natural Gas Black organic shales…

Shale is a fine-grained sedimentary rock that forms from the compaction of silt and clay-size mineral particles that we commonly call “mud.” This composition places shale in a category of sedimentary rocks known as “mudstones.” Shale is distinguished from other mudstones because it is fissile and laminated. “Laminated” means that the rock is made up of many thin…