1. n. [Shale Gas, Geology]

A reservoir in which buoyant forces keep hydrocarbons in place below a sealing caprock. Reservoir and fluid characteristics of conventional reservoirs typically permit oil or natural gas to flow readily into wellbores. The term is used to make a distinction from shale and other unconventional reservoirs, in which gas might be distributed throughout the reservoir at the basin scale, and in which buoyant forces or the influence of a water column on the location of hydrocarbons within the reservoir are not significant.