I shall first discuss the distribution of shale gas resources throughout the world. This is followed by the distribution of shale gas in North American and Europe and the manner in which this influences energy requirement worldwide. The origins of oil and gas from continents and oceans over the past millions of years will be described, as will the structure of a typical shale containing oil and/gas. The importance of seismic reflection surveys in locating those parts of a shale gas suitable for hydraulic fracturing will be stressed, and the methods described. This will be followed by a description of the drilling processes, both vertical and horizontal, employed to intersect the target gas shale horizon and its geological features. The stages employed in the hydraulic fracturing process will be outlined, and the techniques of explosive perforation of the steel casing and injection of the fracturing fluid under high pressure described. I shall described the constitution of the fracturing fluid and discuss the potenital hazards associated with hydraulic fracturing. The final section will be devoted to a discussion of acoustic emission (AE) associated with rock fracture, including monitoring and analysis of the data. Applications of AE to the location of "sweet" zones (those suitable for high rates of gas production) will be discussed.