Shale gas is extracted by tapping gas from shale rock using a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Unlike helium, which is extracted from natural gas, nitrogen can be readily harvested from the air, and cooled for a fraction of the price.
Assuming it keeps the oil and gas extracted from under Scottish waters, an independent Scotland would currently gain roughly as much in taxes as it would lose in subsidies (see article).
However, there are concerns over the process by which the gas is extracted, known as fracking.
BBC: China firms to invest $2bn exploring shale gas reserves
Shale oil and gas is extracted using a method called fracking, but the process has been controversial because of the environmental risks associated with it.
Under the process of fracking, oil or gas is extracted from shale rock by pumping a mixture of sand, water and chemicals into the rock at high pressure.
The environmental movement is of course entirely correct to insist that natural gas be extracted from shale in an environmentally responsible way, and that local socio-economic disruptions be minimized so far as possible.
Fracing is a technique by which unconventional natural gas deposits are extracted from rocks.
The paradox is that while gas can be extracted from methane hydrates, doing so poses potentially catastrophic risks.
Plans by a UK energy company to test whether gas can be extracted from coal beds near Keynsham has prompted residents to hold a public meeting.
BBC: Meeting over Keynsham gas extraction plan by UK Methane
It said markets had been hit by a combination of factors including the 2011 Japanese tsunami and the USA's interest in shale gas, which is extracted from shale rock using the controversial process of fracking.
The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that China's shale formations hold 1, 275 trillion cubic feet of gas that can be extracted using current drilling technology, or more than the recoverable reserves in the U.S. and Canada combined.
The gas would need to be extracted using a controversial process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
BBC: NI shale gas deposits 'could be worth ?80bn' says report
Oil and Gas UK recently reckoned that 40 billion barrels (or gas equivalent) have been extracted so far, and between 14 and 24 billion are left.
For many countries, though, the first booty from any newly acquired seabed will be either oil or gas, both of which can now be extracted fairly easily from deep water.
They believe that roughly a third of the oil and gas potential under UK waters still remains to be extracted.
Their goal is to capture and process the gas, mixing the end product with the petroleum extracted from the same field.
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Shale gas is natural gas that is trapped inside shale rock and is extracted by using a technology called hydraulic fracturing, where highly pressurized water mixed with sand and chemicals is used to crack open rocks.
FORBES: Will ConocoPhillips Help China Tap Its Shale Gas Reserves?
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