Peak Oil is You
Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)
Page added on October 3, 2012
Global Shale Energy Revolution: It Has Barely Begun
The Earth has barely been explored in terms of its vast energy potential. New sources of energy are cropping up in unlikely places, on an almost daily basis.
Shale and other unconventional gas resources have been identified in France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. Land and license acquisition, and even some early stage exploration, is already underway or foreseen in a number of these countries. _New Shale Frontier
South Africa, for example, is now moving ahead to develop its significant native shale resource.
News from Japan’s new shale discoveries 
Notice that the map of shale resources above is incomplete, with large areas “greyed out”. The map below reveals a broader view of the presently known global shale resource, but even that map is woefully incomplete.
JOHN Howard has warned that the development of the shale gas industry in the US could shake up the global energy scene and have a dramatic impact on China and Australia.
… “I think the potential for gas and oil from shale to transform the world energy scene, including the energy scene in China, is quite significant,” Mr Howard said. _Global Shale Shakeup via Australia
Australia is yet another energy-rich country that has just begun to discover its potentially huge shale resource.
We should not forget China, which is thought to possess a gargantuan resource of shale gas. While China is unlikely to ramp up shale production rapidly, it is already using the threat of its shale gas to negotiate much tougher terms with Russian gas company Gazprom.
On Tuesday, Chinese sources told Platts in Astana that price remains the key issue in the negotiations, echoing earlier statements by the Russian side.
Russia wants a price close to that paid by its European customers, while China is insisting on a lower price, similar to what it pays to Middle Eastern LNG suppliers, according to the Chinese sources. _Platts
Left unsaid in most press reports is the profound impact of North American shale oil & gas development on the energy hopes and dreams of other nations possessing large reserves of shale hydrocarbons.
12 Comments on "Global Shale Energy Revolution: It Has Barely Begun"
dsula on Wed, 3rd Oct 2012 4:27 pm
Yep, that’s what we have to be afraid of. We’re going to screw this world over till it’s a barren rock. Nothing will stop us.
Arthur on Wed, 3rd Oct 2012 5:55 pm
Without numbers like reserves and EROEI this map does not say much. It might as well have been a map from Mars and still have the same (zero) significance for the world economy.
Biff Bridgerton on Wed, 3rd Oct 2012 6:02 pm
Wait! It is a map of Mars! Nothing to see here, move along folks.
Natgas on Wed, 3rd Oct 2012 10:18 pm
Even if EROEI is 100 : 100, the companies will use cheaper Coal as input to get the expensive Oil as output. Coal costs only 1/4 as much as Oil in energy equivalent.
But the pollution will be very high and our future generation will pay a heavy price for this.
SilentRunning on Wed, 3rd Oct 2012 10:26 pm
Yay!! Up the CO2 emissions until we have a climate like Venus!! 800F in the shade!!
Arthur on Wed, 3rd Oct 2012 10:51 pm
Just took the documentary ‘Gasland’ from a torrent, which deals with the effect of fracking on the groundwater and subsequently the health of people and lifestock in Pennsylvania. It is truely shocking, how people can set their tapwater on fire by holding a lighter next to it. We are talking about the irreversable poisening of half a continent here, it is pure madness.
Arthur on Wed, 3rd Oct 2012 11:31 pm
http://deepresource.wordpress.com/2012/04/23/gasland/
In 1:00:00 mentioning that the composition of the fracking fluids are basically a corporate secrets as if it was the receipe of coca-cola. Finally civilians did analysis of the poison. It is not just the water, but alsonthe air aroud the drilling sites. The drillers usually have no idea either what the stuff is they are working with. Pictures of bubbling streams, flammable. General procedure: drill as quickly as possible and next get out of there. If somebody sues, buy them off and let them sign a non-disclosure agreement. Dead animals everywhere. People with brain damage, paralyses. Mayor of the Texan town of Dish: “it is a matter of time until someone cooks a hamburger and blows up the entire town”.
rollin on Thu, 4th Oct 2012 12:21 am
Isn’t this going to reduce my winter fuel oil bill and hurt the oil company profits? That is a direct foreign attack on US company profits.
BillT on Thu, 4th Oct 2012 1:19 am
We are committing mass suicide as a species and taking the others down with us. I really hope something happens to end this madness while there is still something left for our grand kids and theirs.
Harquebus on Thu, 4th Oct 2012 2:42 am
There’s more dregs than we thought.
DC on Thu, 4th Oct 2012 11:04 am
All that is, is stuff nature hasnt had the time to turn into a concentrated enough fuel for us to use in the manner weve come to accustomed to. We burned through the ‘good’ stuff so fast, now we are down to yes, the dregs. Its kind of like eating prime rib for years, then, being forced to eat horsemeat and throwing some fancy sauce on it to make it more palatable. And of course sticking a label on it ,calling it Grade A prime Same idea.
SOS on Thu, 4th Oct 2012 6:05 pm
Development of these resources wont harm the earth in any way. There is nothing finite about these resources. NG is one of the cleanest fuels known.
Once we learn how to handle gas and distribute it efficiently to the new, expanded uses, we will see hydrogen appear.
The only economic use for wind or solar power is using it directly to split water into oxygen and hydrogen. Problem is there is no infrastructure for hydrogen but there is for NG and it is growing to serve new areas and new uses especially transportation.
As it stands NG is going to be used in transportation as a replacement fuel for gas. The next step of course is the fuel cell where hydrogen is also very useful. Our evolution in energy supply, barring a new breakthrough, is a progression from one technology to another. This progression is implicit in the management of the 4 factors of production.
It looks to me NG is poised to take center stage because it is going to be the cheapest and most abundent fuel out there. Hydrogen cant compete yet, but once the infrastructure is in place to handle it, it can be produced very easily.