[richardtavor]

“The next largest “continuous” oil accumulation in the U.S. is in the Austin Chalk of Texas and Louisiana,” The Barnett Shale, Woodford Shale and Fayettville Shale will be bigger.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

“Save the Chalks! Save the Shales! Stop drilling now!”

[R W Reactionairy]

The reference was to "continuous" deposits of oil not gas [gas is likely to be the vast bulk of the future production from the Woodford shale as evidenced by current Barnett shale production.] Gas from shale may surprise the pessimists [it won't be easy or cheap but gassy shales cover a large area — the buzz in the popular press lately has been about the prospects in New York State / Pennsylvania for a significant gas from shale recovery. It is much easier to be an optimist about natural gas given that it can be produced economically from some reservoirs with quite low permiability.

As I understand it, the Bakken is a different animal. Free thermally mature oil, still in the source formation [or at least the sandy dolomitic layer between the thicker shale layers. Add in [hopefully for those drilling the well] some natural fracturing, and a gigantic assist from massive lateral(s) and likewise massive slick water frac jobs and you end up with some potentially very significant fields.