Unconventional Resources

Unconventional (oil & gas) reservoirs, or unconventional resources (resource plays) are accumulations where oil & gas phases are tightly bound to the rock fabric by strong capillary forces, requiring specialized measures for evaluation and extraction. Some of the oil and gas percolate all the way to the surface as natural seepages, either on land or on the sea floor. The rest remain trapped underground where the oil and gas are prevented from reaching the surface by geological barriers, in a range of trap geometries. In this way, underground pockets of oil & gas accumulate by displacing water in porous rock, which, if permeable, are referred to as conventional reservoirs.