Shale Oil And Gas - The Facts And The Arguments For And Against Its UsePosted by Dogan Hong on March 15th, 2021 Firstly what is Shale Oil and Gas and what are the benefits to the world? Shale oil and gas is actually natural oil and gas which is within fine grained organic rich rock formations. These rocks are known as Shale and they are a combination of mud and rock. Hence where the term Shale mining comes from. In order to extract the oil and gas from the shale a system called "hydraulic fracturing "or "fracking" is used to extract this from the ground. A mixture of sand and water is injected into the cracks to force them open. This creates a large fissure which then allows the oil and gas to flow out into large bores where it can be extracted. This fracturing can occur naturally and in fact the first well was established in the USA in 1821. This process is more expensive than normal methods of extraction due to the expense of massive hydraulic fracturing equipment. This is however offset by the fact that this method is low risk compared to other methods of mining. Due to the fact that traditional supplies of oil and gas are now in decline has meant that Countries are now turning to shale gas and oil as a solution to this problem. The world leaders in this area are North America and it is estimated that shale Gas will produce over half of the natural gas for North America by 2020. When extracting shale oil and gas there are also a number of by products which become available as part of the process such as ethane. This has lead to a multitude of new ethylene plants being built in the USA in particular. Many countries are now looking at shale extraction to increase their own supply of oil and gas. By increasing the production of shale gas around the world it is hoped that this will stop Russia and the Middle East being able to dictate higher prices particularly to European Countries. The USA lead in the development and production of Shale gas but there are now deposits found throughout the world. In particular they can be found in countries such as Australia, China, Poland and the United Kingdom. At DDGS Centrifuge there are no wells in Europe but Poland has potentially the largest supply with 22.45 trillion cubic meters. Poland currently imports 75% of their gas supply from Russia and this find will potentially produce over 200 times the countries annual consumption and over 750 times the countries current annual gas production. In the UK shale gas has been discovered near Blackpool and the prediction is that it could be around 200 trillion cubic feet. This is ten times the reserves the UK has from the North Sea and more than the total of all UK fields. Production was scheduled to start in 2012 however there is currently an investigation to find out whether drilling is linked to two small earthquakes that occurred in 2011. There are different views on the impact shale mining has on the environment with the USA President Obama stating that shale mining will help reduce green house emissions. However real evidence shows that shale extraction could in fact increase greenhouse emissions. With a report by the USA Environmental Protection Agency stating that shale extraction emits more methane gas than conventional extraction methods. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and has 105 times more global warming potential than carbon dioxide. As part of the process water is pumped into the well and this is mixed with chemicals which could lead to contamination problems. In fact there is an investigation underway in the USA with regards to water contamination due to the fracturing process. France has potentially an enormous amount of shale oil and gas but they have put a hold on all shale mining until they have investigated the environmental impact. It is predicted that the footprint from shale on the environment is worse than coal or oil over a 20 year period. In summary One thing is certain with the demise of natural fields of oil and gas that Countries will look at alternative methods to replace their current supply. In fact in some cases these finds are not actually replacements but are brand new and countries that previously did not have oil and gas now have a ready made supply. So as much as we need to look after the environment and protect the planet for the future, personal gain and personal benefits tend to override this fact. It would appear that shale extraction could over the next 20 -50 years potentially replace natural supplies. This could also have a change of balance of power as far as supply is concerned and Countries that had no fields before could now be in the driving seat. In the short term if shale extraction is intensified this could drive down prices as there would be a surplus supply of both oil and gas. However over the long term what will the cost be to the environment and to the planet in general? There are a number of unanswered questions at the moment and only time will tell whether shale fuel is the way forward.Like it? Share it! |