"ExxonMobil recently completed testing a shale gas well in the Mako Trough of Hungary. The well produced both gas and water and was considered a disappointment but exploration will continue there."

Drillers have known about shale gas for decades. Generally it was considered a nuisance and often a danger particularly when a pocket of it was drilled before the surface pipe could be set. But beginning in the early 1990s when Mitchell Energy (now part of Devon) began development of the Barnett shale in the Fort Worth basin, interest has gained. When horizontal drilling, fracturing and proppant insertion became the normal completion practice after about the year 2000 and production rates zoomed, this resource caught the attention of many producers in the U.S. including Range Resources, Chesapeake, Pioneer Resources and dozens of smaller companies. In August of 2008, gas shales suddenly came into focus in Europe. Gas Shales in Europe was established at the Helmholtz Centre in Potsdam with the object of surveying European geologic records and electric logs to create an atlas of potential shale gas formations. The project was set up to run six years from January 2009. Constantly escalating prices from Gazprom has now lent urgency to the European Union's quest for alternate supplies. Wintershall, the oil and gas subsidiary of BASF is active in Lower Saxony applying state-of-the-science technology to tight gas reservoirs. ConocoPhillips with Lane Energy has targeted Silurian shales in Poland and has options on about 1 million acres in 3 regions. Seismic surveys are expected to finish in Q-4 2009 with first well to be drilled in 2010. Northern Petroleum is testing and completing prospects in the Permian Rotliegend formation in Holland. ExxonMobil recently completed testing a shale gas well in the Mako Trough of Hungary. The well produced both gas and water and was considered a disappointment but exploration will continue there. Total has leaseholds all over France which have shale gas potential. In summary, the shale gas trend is now well-embarked on a worldwide basis. This resource is inexpensive and plentiful. Nothing can stop its growth.

http://www.glgroup.com/News/ExxonMobil-Devon-Total-Shell-ConocoPhillips-go-for-shale-gas-worldwide-44049.html