The New Albany shale occurs in the Illinois Basin, in portions of Illinois, Indiana and western Kentucky. It is a low-permeability fractured shale with low formation pressure.

According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the play is defined by the area where a facies rich in organic matter is present, mainly in the southeastern part of the basin. Here, vitrinite reflectance values of 0.6% Ro are recorded.

The New Albany ranges in age from Middle Devonian through Early Mississippian, although most of the shale is Late Devonian. It is correlative to the Antrim shale in Michigan, Lower Huron in eastern Kentucky and Woodford in Oklahoma.

In southeastern Illinois and adjacent western Kentucky, the New Albany is more than 460 ft. thick. It thins toward the basin margins, except in west-central Illinois where it attains more than 300 ft. in thickness. Production from the New Albany spans more than a century. Two distinct gas plays exist in the shale: a shallow biogenic trend along the basin’s eastern rim and a thermogenic trend deeper into the basin.