Woodford Shale

shale basin, Oklahoma, United States

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 20, 2026

Quick Summary

The Woodford Shale is a significant shale basin primarily located in Oklahoma, United States. Shale basins are formations of fine-grained sedimentary rocks, rich in organic matter, that were deposited millions of years ago. Over time, heat and pressure transformed this organic material into natural gas. While some gas migrates to more accessible reservoirs, much remains trapped within the shale itself. Extracting this gas requires unconventional methods like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking). The Woodford Shale is one of the key basins in the U.S. where these techniques have revolutionized natural gas production.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

shale gas
Shale gas resources of the United States
…mainly in northern Arkansas; the Woodford Shale, mainly in Oklahoma; and the Haynesville Shale, straddling the Texas-Louisiana state line. The Barnett Shale was the proving ground of horizontal drilling and fracking starting in the 1990s; more than 10,000 wells have been drilled in that basin. Other shale basins are found…
Read More
…mainly in northern Arkansas; the Woodford Shale, mainly in Oklahoma; and the Haynesville Shale, straddling the Texas-Louisiana state line. The Barnett Shale was the proving ground of horizontal drilling and fracking starting in the 1990s; more than 10,000 wells have been drilled in that basin. Other shale basins are found…
Read More