# Unconventional Oil & Gas

**Source:** Buckhead Energy Oil & Gas Encyclopedia (https://www.buckheadenergy.com/learn) — canonical: https://www.buckheadenergy.com/unconventional-oil-and-gas

Unconventional oil and gas is hydrocarbon production from low-permeability "tight" rock — most notably shale — that cannot flow to a conventional vertical well, and is instead produced using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to create flow paths through the rock.

## Conventional vs. unconventional
In a conventional reservoir, oil and gas has already migrated into porous, permeable rock and can flow to a vertical well on its own. Unconventional resources are still locked in the tight source rock — shale and similar formations — where permeability is too low for that. Producing them took two combined technologies: horizontal drilling, which turns the wellbore sideways to run thousands of feet through the target layer, and hydraulic fracturing, which pumps fluid at pressure to create fractures that let the hydrocarbons flow.
This is the technology behind the shale revolution — the Permian, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, Haynesville, SCOOP/STACK, and the rest.

## Why it reshaped mineral values
Unconventional development turned huge areas of previously marginal minerals into valuable ones, and changed how they are developed — long laterals crossing multiple tracts, drilling in units and pooled configurations, and steep early decline curves that front-load production. It is why so many owners receive lease and purchase offers, and why the wells already drilled, the operator, and the remaining un-drilled locations drive value so heavily. Buckhead Energy prices interests in unconventional plays on exactly those factors.

## Frequently asked questions

**What is unconventional oil and gas?**
Production from tight, low-permeability rock like shale that cannot flow to a conventional well, produced using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. It is the technology behind the shale plays — the Permian, Bakken, Eagle Ford, Marcellus, and others.

**What is the difference between conventional and unconventional?**
Conventional oil and gas has migrated into porous, permeable rock and flows to a vertical well on its own. Unconventional resources are locked in tight source rock and require horizontal drilling plus hydraulic fracturing to produce.

**Why did unconventional drilling raise mineral values?**
It turned previously marginal minerals into productive ones across huge areas and changed development to long horizontal laterals in pooled units. That is why so many owners get offers, and why drilled wells, the operator, and remaining locations drive value.

## Related terms
- [What is pooling?](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/what-is-pooling)
- [Decline curves & royalty checks](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/why-is-my-royalty-check-going-down)
- [Oil & gas royalties](https://www.buckheadenergy.com/oil-and-gas-royalties)

_Educational information only, not legal or tax advice. Buckhead Energy is a direct buyer of oil & gas mineral and royalty interests._