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SHALE GAS

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Why America Can Make or Break A New Global Gas World. Natural Gas, by the Book. The report examines the perils and promise of the global natural gas boom brought about by a controversial drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. While some environmentalists are determined to shut hydrofracturing down, the report says that shale gas can be safely extracted, and at relatively low cost, and is preferable to coal in terms of emissions that contribute to global warming. But the report also makes clear that regulators and the industry will have to be much more aggressive in protecting the water and the air from pollutants released by the process. For the Obama administration, and regulators in the 14 states where natural gas is booming, this means imposing tough new rules on every stage: making sure that industry constructs leakproof wells that do not pollute the water table, and safely recycling or storing the millions of gallons of contaminated water produced by every well.

Switching to natural gas is not going to solve climate change. Shale Gas, No Hot Air. Details Written by Nick Grealy Published: 07 May 2012 One of the frustrations in dealing with fractivists is that although they and I start on a scientific basis where I say if the overwhelming majority of scientists say climate change is real that's good enough for me, the antsi start losing all science in increasingly bizarre disaster scenarios. The Howarth study from Cornell is a prime example. Held up by the likes of Caroline Lucas, the Guardian and the FOE as indisputable fact, the reality is that the somewhat far fetched theory has been rejected by at least half a dozen other studies. "Even with the regulations, the greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas will remain larger than that of coal, when viewed over an integrated 20-year time period following emission to the atmosphere, because of the methane emissions (even though reduced)," the joint statement read.

But what of this latest study funded by the Catskill Mountainkeeper and Park Foundation: Hare brained science gets recycled. British energy security: Why the debate over British shale gas extraction is for high stakes. Gas Exporting Countries Forum face reality: shale is here to stay. Details Written by Nick Grealy Published: 07 March 2012 Very significant article coming out of CERA this week is about how the Russian leader of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum is seeking to meet up with the next big gas exporting country: The USA. What next? An OPEC invite? The secretary general of the Gas Exporting Countries Forum, a group of the leading natural gas-producing nations outside the United States—now the world's No. 1 gas producer—says the influential group has asked to meet with officials from the Energy Department, suggesting that it's time for more global coordination of natural gas development.

Leonid Bokhanovskiy, who became head of the GECF in December 2009, told National Journal on the sidelines of a major energy conference here that he had requested a meeting with Deputy Energy Secretary Daniel Poneman, though he would not discuss the planned agenda. A meeting between the Obama administration and the leader of GECF would be notable. But this gets far, far worse: Finding the right balance on natural gas. In a series of posts leading up to the World Economic Forum’s New Energy Architecture report launched on Monday 23rd April 2012, Fred Krupp, President of the Environmental Defense Fund, talks about the environmental challenges of unlocking the potential of shale gas. As newly abundant shale gas transforms the US energy economy – burgeoning from 2% of total US natural gas supply in 2001 to about 30% today – environmental concerns have overtaken the public debate.

People across the US worry that shale gas cannot be tapped without polluting their drinking water, fouling their air and overwhelming their communities. A significant segment of the public has concluded that of the three imperatives of the energy triangle – growth, sustainability and security – the environmental challenge is not being met. As a result, communities around the US are having a shale gas rethink. It does not have to be this way. Some are concerned that shale gas will slow the transition to wind and solar. The reality behind European shale. Details Written by Nick Grealy Published: 27 March 2012 As usual the reality below the fold contradicts the headline in this Bloomberg story on Polish shale gas. Europe’s best hope for a shale-gas boom is fading as explorers in Poland confront rising taxes, a lack of rigs and rocks that are harder to drill than expected.

“The growth of shale in Poland will be slower than in the U.S. because it would need to build the infrastructure the U.S. already had available,” said Laura Loppacher, an oil and gas analyst at Jefferies International Ltd. in London. But towards the end: Not all Polish wells have failed. “Shale gas in Poland could still be a game changer for the country’s energy sector despite the disappointing shale gas reserve estimate,” said Fitch’s Wicik. That looks like a vote of confidence to me. Spain is one of the world's largest LNG markets: over 35 BCM last year. "We have carried out our studies ... Meanwhile Romania is finally hotting up. Ukraine and shale. Details Written by Nick Grealy Published: 05 May 2011 It's now seeming increasingly irrelevant to worry about the possibility of a renewed Russia/Ukraine dispute that only last year was a key part of EU and UK energy policy concerns.

According to that narrative, gas was an insecure energy source which made the alternatives of Coal CCS, nuclear, off-shore wind and the Nabucco pipeline competitive. Poland's looming shale riches seem to make that scenario increasingly unlikely. Simply put any future Russian/Ukraine issue is of receding importance. Now, despite environmentalists’ opposition to the water-polluting potential of the shale-gas extraction method known as fracking, the technology’s proponents are heading abroad. Already this year, Ukraine has opened talks with three Western energy giants — Exxon Mobil, Chevron and Shell — to search for shale gas. Here comes that game changer description again: Shale oil as the emerging main event. Details Written by Nick Grealy Published: 02 May 2011 One thing that continues to mystify, is how the increasingly noisy news on US shale oil success isn't getting through to the rest of the media, financial or otherwise.

It seems a case similar to the wide belief in finite gas in Europe, where Peak Oil has been part of the mental furniture for so long that any news that contradicts something that everyone knows is true ( i.e. oil is running out) is just not taken seriously. Take this: Following declines in all but one year from 1986 to 2008, U.S. oil production (crude oil and lease condensate) increased in 2009 and again in 2010. Due in part to Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, average production dipped below 5.0 million barrels per day (bbl/d) in 2008, then climbed to 5.4 million bbl/d in 2009 and 5.5 million bbl/d in 2010, with 2010 volumes representing an 11 percent increase over 2008 As we see from the history shale gas, shale oil will not only be a North American phenomenon.

Shale Game - Forbes.com. China Closer To Joining Shale Gas Fracking Craze. BHP in $4.75bn deal to enter US shale gas market - Business News, Business. The push, the mining giant's maiden foray into the US shale gas market, is BHP's first attempt at deal-making since it was trumped in its $39bn gambit to buy Potash, the Canadian fertiliser giant, last year. The miner has also failed in its plan to merge with Rio Tinto, and in efforts to set up an iron ore venture with its rival Anglo Australian.

The deal, which is expected to be funded from BHP's cash resources, will see the miner buying out Chesapeake's interests in the Fayetteville Shale gas field in Arkansas, including the mid-stream pipeline system. The assets produce more than 400 million cubic feet of gas a day, and include development options for "substantially higher production over a 40-year operating life", BHP said. Shale gas is natural gas extracted from sedimentary rock composed of mud, quartz and calcite. "The Fayetteville Shale is a world-class onshore natural gas resource. 2011: The year of the mining boom?

Blackpool UK Shale Gas. China shale bigger than the US say Chinese. More big news on Europe shale. The German shale surprise. UK energy policy's permanent train wreck. The magic words: ’shale gas’ hits the diplomatic circuit | FT En. Shale gas excitement seems to be spreading everywhere. Gideon Rachman, the FT’s foreign affairs commentator, describes how he has been cornered more than once at international conferences (not energy-focused conferences, we suspect) by someone declaring the importance of shale gas. He likens it to the scene in The Graduate in which Dustin Hoffman’s character is given the prosaic advice: ‘plastics’. The excitement in the US is understandable; the production of shale gas does appear to be having a big effect on gas production there, just a few years after the technology to extract it became accessible.

But Rachman has found a lot of excitement in China and particularly Europe. This might seem odd given that there are still big questions about the extent and recoverability of Europe’s shale gas reserves. In recent months, western officials have noticed a distinctly more friendly tone in their dealings with Russia. Perhaps it’s not so surprising that the diplomatic mood has already turned. Natural Gas Prices vs. Rig Count -

When I first really started following natural gas prices I would always hear people talking about rig count and how much it would affect the production of natural gas. It made common sense to think that the more rigs that are out there the more wells will be drilled and therefore the more gas comes online. This was the conventional thinking when I was positive that gas withdrawals would fall off before the heating season of ‘09 and ’10. This however was not the case and the drop in rig count didn’t really play that big of factor into a significant production decline that was supposedly going to follow the decline in rigs. From going over the numbers I believe it has come clear that throughout the history of the liberalized US natural gas market (’91, more or less, to present) the rig count has not dictated the amount of production that will flow into the market.

Click to enlarge Source: EIA, Baker Hughes Do you trust this author to give you good analysis? Follow Bill Francis (175 followers)