Shale Gas Revolution Rocks Green Energy Policy

Colin McClelland, Bloomberg Cheap, low-emission shale gas, with double the global reserves of conventional sources, will discourage investment in nuclear reactors and carbon storage that would fight climate change, a British study shows. “In a world where there is the serious possibility of cheap, relatively clean gas, who will commit large sums of money to expensive pieces of equipment to lower carbon emissions?” Paul Stevens, senior research fellow at Chatham House, a London- based institute for the study of international affairs, wrote in the report published today.

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Global shale gas reserves are estimated to be 456 trillion cubic meters (16,110 trillion cubic feet) compared with 187 trillion cubic meters for conventional gas, the London-based World Energy Council said in a 2010 report. More than 60 percent of shale gas deposits, or plays, are in North America and Russia. Shale gas is considered unconventional because it is found in sedimentary rock, not in reservoirs. Tapping it requires more wells, advanced horizontal drilling and chemicals that can pollute ground water. More... Europe's Shale Gas Deposits May Alter Geopolitical Balance Source: CAPPA Fund III Former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Energy James # said European shale gas may alter the geostrategic balance between Russia and Europe. Speaking in Florence, Italy, at a Technical Forum on Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems, # noted that shale gas presents Europe with new opportunities to develop significant gas reserves. Shale gas has been exploited successfully in the United States for several years, # noted, and Europe may soon follow suit. Mr. # is the Director of International Oil and Gas Ventures for CAPPA Fund III, a Washington, DC-based group that purchased the rights to 34% of the shares of Transpetrol, the Slovak operating company for the Druzhba pipeline. # is the Principal of Global Energy Strategies, an international energy consulting group. Shale gas deposits exist throughout Western and Central Europe, with large potentially recoverable reserves in Poland, Germany, Hungary, Romania, and neighboring countries. Initial exploration is already under way in Poland, Sweden and Germany, but additional exploration is needed to determine the extent of the reserves. Conservative estimates place the potential at around 500 trillion cubic feet, or roughly 5% of existing global supply. More.... Shale Gas Will Rock the World By Amy Myers Jaffe There's an energy revolution brewing right under our feet. See how horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing work. Over the past decade, a wave of drilling around the world has uncovered giant supplies of natural gas in shale rock. By some estimates, there's 1,000 trillion cubic feet recoverable in North America alone—enough to supply the nation's natural-gas needs for the next 45 years. Europe may have nearly 200 trillion cubic feet of its own. We've always known the potential of shale; we just didn't have the technology to get to it at a low enough cost. Now new techniques have driven down the price tag—and set the stage for shale gas to become what will be the game-changing resource of the decade. More...

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