Abstract Delineating the sweet spots, areas where well performance will be most economic, is a critical issue for both the exploration and the development of gas-shale reservoirs. Two simple methods to aid identification and mapping of sweet spots using density and neutron logs are presented in this paper. The first method is apparent shale porosity*thickness (PHIas*H) maps, derived from the raw density porosity log, used to qualitatively assess and map reservoir quality and quantity. What is unique in the approach of this paper is that no rock calibration is done to correct for total organic carbon (TOC), a common industry practice. The second method is the neutron gas effect. In many gas shales, the neutron and density logs exhibit approach sometimes to the point of a corssover response, similar to the well-documented effect in gas reservoirs in sandstone or carbonate. All currently commercial gas shales in North America exhibit the gas effect, suggesting that it can be used as a direct detection technique for commercial gas shale.