U.S. Geological Survey
Energy Resource Surveys Program

Photo of a tight gas sandstone thin section

Photo of a tight gas sandstone thin section. The blue areas are pores. The pores are irregularly distributed through the reservoir and the porosity of the rock can be seen to be much less than the conventional reservoir. The pores are poorly connected by very narrow capillaries resulting in very low permeability. Gas flows through these rocks at generally low rates and special methods are necessary to produce this gas.


Describing Petroleum Reservoirs of the Future