A new hydrocarbon study led by researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory contradicts conventional wisdom about how methane is trapped in rock, revealing a new strategy to access the valuable energy resource more easily. Their open-access study is published in Nature’s new Communications Earth & Environment journal. Partners include the New Mexico Consortium, University of Maryland, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology Center for Neutron Research. The most challenging issue facing the shale energy industry is the very low hydrocarbon recovery rates: less than 10% for oil and 20% for gas. Our study yielded new insights into the fundamental mechanisms governing hydrocarbon transport within shale nanopores. The results will ultimately help develop better pressure management strategies for enhancing unconventional hydrocarbon recovery. —Hongwu Xu, an author from Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Earth and Environmental Sciences Division Most of US natural gas is hidden deep within shale reservoirs. Low […]