It’s been a wild ride.

From George Mitchell’s first forays into the Barnett back in the 1980s to the mad land grabs in the mid- and late-2000s to the heady production forecasts, shales have dominated the oil and gas industry, at least in North America, like few other industry breakthroughs.

Now, with oil and gas prices mere shadows of their former selves, many companies are reassessing shales in light of the new price environment, which shale development is at least partly responsible for. But companies are not walking away from shales altogether. With the pressure to drill up acreage mostly a thing of the past, they are experimenting with new technologies and methodologies to drill shales optimally, not just efficiently. And Europe, which desperately wishes to reduce its dependence on Russian gas, is quietly putting policies into place to encourage development of its own vast resources.

Read each story:

Tier 1 rigs continue to find work while legacy rigs are retired

Technology boosts returns in shales

Slowdown makes time to refine strategies, processes

Europe's shale gale a gentle breeze