Purpose. Study the state of modern technologies for the extraction of unconventional hydrocarbon resources and determine the prospects for their development. Methods. The method of qualitative and quantitative analysis of scientific literature, data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration, national reports on the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative standard, as well as open Internet sources, are used in the research. Structurally, the research consists of a sequential analysis of the main types of unconventional hydrocarbon resources. The analysis of each type of unconventional hydrocarbon resources is to determine its main geological characteristics, conditions of occurrence, prospecting-predicting criteria and peculiarities, technologies of recovery, country (geographic) localization and statistical data on production dynamics. Findings. The research presents a systematization of the main types of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, such as oil and gas of shale strata, tight sands gas (basin-central gas type and tight sands gas), methane gas of coal fields, bituminous and oil sands, oil from oil shale, as well as their sequential analysis. The definitions of the main types of unconventional hydrocarbon resources according to Russian and English terminology are synchronized. Depending on the type of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, the conditions for their occurrence, prospecting-predicting criteria and diagnostic properties, country (geographic) localization are determined. The research presents the world experience in the recovery of unconventional hydrocarbon resources (North America, Europe, and the Asia-Pacific region), as well as the dynamics of shale gas and oil recovery (using the example of the United States). Originality. A sequential systematic analysis of unconventional hydrocarbon resources, depending on their type, has been made. Practical implications. The main objectives have been determined for solving the problem of using the unconventional hydrocarbon sources potential, which can lead to the conclusions about the prospects for the unconventional hydrocarbon resources recovery. It is advisable to assess the necessity of studying unconventional hydrocarbon resources in countries oriented on the use of traditional resources.

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