Modelinggeomechanicalpropertiesofshalestomakesenseoftheircomplexpropertiesisattheforefrontofpetroleumexplorationandexploitationapplicationandhasreceivedmuchresearchattentioninrecentyears.Ashale'skeygeomechanicalpropertieshelptoidentifyits'fracibility'itsfluidflowpatternsandrates,anditsin-placepetroleumresourcesandpotentialcommercialreserves.Themodelsandtheinformationtheyprovide,inturn,enableengineerstodesigndrillingpatterns,fracture-stimulationprogramsandmaterialsselectionthatwillavoidformationdamageandoptimizerecoveryofpetroleum.Awide-rangeoftools,technologies,experimentsandmathematicaltechniquesaredeployedtoachievethis.Characterizingtheinterconnectedfracture,permeabilityandporositynetworkisanessentialstepinunderstandingashaleshighly-anisotropicfeaturesonmultiplescales(nanotomacro).Well-logdata,anditspetrophysicalinterpretationtocalibratemanygeomechanicalmetricstothosemeasuredinrocksamplesbylaboratorytechniquesplaysakeyroleinprovidingaffordabletoolsthatcanbedeployedcost-effectivelyinmultiplewellbores.Likewise,microseismicdatahelpstomatchfracturedensityandpropagationobservedonareservoirscalewithpredictionsfromsimulationsandlaboratorytestsconductedonidealised/simplifieddiscretefracturenetworkmodels.Shalescomplexwettability,adsorptionandwaterimbibitioncharacteristicshaveasignificantinfluenceonpotentialformationdamageduringstimulationandtheshort-termandlongtermflowofpetroleumachievable.Manygasflowmechanismsandmodelsareproposedtakingintoaccountthemultipleflowmechanismsinvolved(e.g.,desorption,diffusion,slippageandviscousflowoperatingatmultipleporositylevelsfromnano-tomacro-scales).Fittinghistoricalproductiondataandwelldeclinecurvestomodelpredictionshelpstoverifywhethermodel'sgeomechanicalassumptionsarerealisticornot.Thisreviewdiscussesthetechniques
