Drilling companies drill vertically down to the desired distance and drill horizontally into the shale. They then use hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to loosen up the rock enough to get the gas out.
Answer:Harnessing Natural Gas As an Alternative Energy Source. The technology is available to extract it from coal. It's called "coal gasification.". The coal gasification process is accomplished by exposing coal to high temperatures and high pressures in order to break it apart into gaseous components. The problem is that coal gasification is such an expensive process that it's not practical financially.
