GASH

GASH is the first European interdisciplinary shale gas research initiative. It started in 2009 and the first phase runs for three years. The project is sponsored by the following companies: Statoil, ExxonMobil, Gas de France SUEZ, Wintershall, Vermillion, Marathon Oil, Total, Repsol and Schlumberger. Besides the development of a GIS-based European black shale database, 12 research projects are being conducted by a multinational expert task force drawn from research institutions, geological surveys, universities and consultants. The overall project goal is to predict shale gas formation and occurrence in time and space. GASH focuses on the potential gas shales of Europe, especially on the Alum Shale (Denmark), and the Posidonia and Carboniferous Shales in Germany. Importantly, it also integrates proven US gas shales (e.g. Barnett Shale) for calibration of key variables.

In a nutshell, the project is