A recent report by Research and Markets has suggested that the demand for shale gas is constantly increasing as depleting energy reserves have forced the world to focus on unconventional sources of energy.

The report indicates that the success of shale in the US has motivated other countries such as China to invest in it. The US continues to dominate the shale gas market in terms of both production and revenue. However, cost of production and contamination of surface water are anticipated to hinder market growth in the near future.

In China, shale gas production is expected to commence in 2015, as this region is still in the nascent stages of development. Meanwhile, the development of shale production in Europe is slow due to environmental issues and public opposition.

EIA has estimated that there is a total of 7229 trillion ft3 of technically recoverable shale gas in the world. China has the largest reserves, followed by Argentina and Algeria.

Shale gas is widely used in power generation and industrial applications. According to the report, industrial usage accounted for more than 30% of total usage in 2012. This figure is expected to reach 33 – 35% by 2019. Power generation also accounts for a large portion of the overall shale market, but this share is expected to decrease by 2019. Residential usage is expected to increase. Application in the commercial sector is also expected to increase substantially by 2019.