Scientific publishing company Elsevier has launched the Journal of Unconventional Oil and Gas Resources to publish peer-reviewed articles on the shale revolution.

The journal, shortened to JUOGR, will focus on the engineering and technical aspects of onshore energy, including tight gas, shale gas, liquid-rich shales, tight oil, coalbed methane and gas hydrate.

The first issue is expected to be published in March, according to editor John Yilin Wang from Pennsylvania State University. He declined to give more details about the journal.

The launch of the journal is a reflection of the extraordinary growth in recent years of research into unconventional fossil fuels. Elsevier generally launches a new journal only when existing journals cannot absorb a new topic area, according to an interview with a senior editor available online. Journals are usually proposed by the publisher and discussed with the editor.

The journal will cover topics including "interrelated geological studies, well drilling and completion, rock mechanics, stimulation, reserve assessment, production engineering, formation evaluation and reservoir engineering, recovery mechanisms, petroleum economics and policy, environmental aspects, and improved recovery for unconventional resources."

It will include research articles, case histories, field process reports, short communications, review articles and other formats, according to the website.

Elsevier already has publications such as Petroleum Exploration and Development and the Journal of Petroleum Science and Engineering but nothing so far focusing on unconventionals.