Shale gas by country
While the shale gas potential of many nations seems promising, there are several obstacles spanning several economic, environmental, technical and social issues grouped in major categories such as access to resources, infrastructure and governance.
[3] In June 2013, the US Energy Information Administration estimated that Argentina held 802 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas reserves, the third largest in the world.
[11] The nation has a number of prospective shale gas targets in various stages of exploration and exploitation in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
On 8 March 2011, the Quebec provincial government effectively declared a temporary moratorium on the use of chemical fracturing during shale gas drilling pending a stricter full environment assessment audit.
Acting under recommendations from a provincial environmental assessment board, Quebec Minister of Environment Pierre Arcand stated that "We are committed to making sure that it is done properly or it won’t be done at all,"[13] The assessment board cites the chief concern of groundwater contamination with respect to the St. Lawrence valley, and recommended the audit in order to fully inform and involve communities and the public of the risks involved in shale gas exploitation in Quebec.
But as of February 2013, there have been only six productive shale gas and tight oil wells drilled in Mexico (a seventh was abandoned as non-productive), all producing from Eagle Ford equivalent.
[19] Mexico's shale oil and gas development close to the US border is hampered by the activities of organized criminal groups that include the theft of pipeline products and the extortion to companies in the extractive industries, along with lack of adequate infrastructure; overall, this has resulted in the low economic competitiveness of Mexico's shales in comparison with those across the border in the United States soil.
Owing to Mexico's weak rule of law and poor success in previous major industry reforms, the legal changes brought about might as well end up worsening the drawbacks in the energy sector and namely in the development of the country's shale resources.
[27] China has set its companies a target of producing 30 billion cubic meters a year from shale, equivalent to almost half the country's gas consumption in 2008.
[34] Reliance Industries paid a reported US$1.7 bn for a 40% share in Atlas Energy's leasehold in the Marcellus shale gas play in the eastern US.
[37] In August 2010, a delegation including the director-general of hydrocarbons and officials of the oil ministry is scheduled to meet in Washington with the US Geological Survey to discuss help in identifying and exploiting shale-gas resources in India.
[51] In the Barnett Shale in Texas, French oil firm Total entered a joint venture with Chesapeake Energy, and Italy's ENI purchased an interest in Quicksilver Resources.
The best case scenario for shale gas development in Europe is one in which declining conventional production can be replaced and import dependence maintained at a level of around 60%.
France has introduced a ban, because of the risks connected to the chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process, while Germany has suspended operations awaiting further environmental assessments.
Producers of liquified natural gas (LNG), which in 2008 had been preparing to ship their product to the United States, had to find new markets, and so increased their exports to Europe.
[65] The Danish affiliate, Total E&P Denmark B.V., and the state-owned oil and gas company Nordsøfonden have been granted two onshore licences for exploration in Northern Jutland and North Zealand.
[70] He declared "In our current state of knowledge, no one can tell that shale gas and oil extraction by hydraulic fracturing, the only technique known today, is free from serious risks to health and environment.
[73][74] In December 2017, to fight against global warming, France adopted a law banning new fossil fuel (including shale gas) exploitation projects and closing current ones by 2040 in all of its territories.
[79] In February 2011, onshore petroleum licences were granted to Tamboran Resources and Lough Allen Natural Gas Company (Langco) in the Northwest Carboniferous Basin of Ireland lasting 24 months covering an area of 1630 km2.
The Ministry of Economic affairs, Innovation and Agriculture is currently researching the impact of shale gas exploitation, and the results are expected to be published by the end of 2014.
[86] The reduced estimates, slow rate of exploration, legal and regulatory wrangling, and challenging geology saw most major companies, including ExxonMobil, Marathon Oil, Eni, and Talisman Energy, pull out of the country.
In May 2012, the government temporarily suspended permits for shale gas exploration while waiting for the results of the EU's environmental studies on this energy source.
[96] This decision sparked large nationwide protests aimed at banning the exploitation of shale gas and to remove the current government of Romania.
National energy corporation Petrom is also conducting preliminary analyses of its concessions and Romgaz, MOL, Sterling and East-West, and Zeta Petroleum have also all expressed an interest in further opportunities in Romania.
Four shallow vertical wells tested the prospectivity of biogenic gas from the organic rich Cambro-Ordovician Alum Shale over an area covering about 150 km2.
[102] Gripen Gas confirmed in October 2012 that Bergsstaten (Swedish Mines Inspectorate) had awarded the Sandön exploration licence covering 162 km2 in the western part of lake Vättern, in Östergötland County.
The managing director of Aura Energy, Dr Bob Beeson, a professional geologist with over 35 years of experience in mineral exploration and development, explained the company's position in Sweden.
Dr Beeson said he was very excited about the project's potential, particularly as the Motala shale may share some similarities with a highly successful play in North America.
"Lousy domestic policy remains the single greatest impediment to gas investments in Ukraine," said Edward Chow, a senior fellow at the Center of Strategic and International Studies.
[106] Royal Dutch Shell received a shale agreement with the government earlier in 2013 to explore in Yuzivska in the Eastern part of the country, however it halted its activities due to the war in Donbas.
