Shale Gas News and Information
Nothing beats home-grown energy
- Published on 23 May 2013
- Written by Nick Grealy
Wednesday May 22 was a key date in shale energy in Europe with the UK release of the Institute of Directors report Getting Shale Gas Working coinciding with an EU Summit where shale was top of the agenda.
Arriving at the summit, British Prime Minister David Cameron, whose government is advancing plans to exploit his country's shale gas deposits, said Europe could not afford to be left behind as the world scrambles to develop the resource.
He drew a comparison with the United States, where years of extraction, using a much-criticised process of hydraulic 'fracking', has delivered record-low gas prices for consumers.
"We mustn't be left behind in the global race," Cameron told reporters. "Europe has 75 percent of the United States's shale resources, but America is drilling 100 times faster than Europe."
Is this the same David Cameron who told us shale is years away after his Eton chum Sam Laidlaw of Centrica told him so at a Number 10 meeting that didn’t bother to ask plebs like the British Geological Society or Cuadrilla Resources for their input? Apparently so, but there have been two recent changes. One was the arrival of Peter Lilley MP into the inner circle at Number 10, and the other was the surge in support for UKIP, the right wing party that has at least one half-rational policy, going for shale gas.
As they say, a week is long time in politics, and I'm happy to forget the 18 months squandered by the UK and be thankful that the down-slope on the other side of the tipping point will be faster than the uphill.
The public acceptance myth of Europe shale gas?
- Published on 21 May 2013
- Written by Nick Grealy
One should expect that as someone who runs a consultancy based on public acceptance of shale gas, I have a vested interest inflating the issue, much as many energy policy analysts appear to have more interest in perpetuating problems than solving them.
Certainly, on the conference circuit, within academia and among financial research, public acceptance (PA) is the issue du jour. This from the UK Energy Research Centre is but a random example:
To become a major developer of shale gas, Europe must overcome a variety of issues and the strongest challenge will be fierce public opposition.
Not wishing to talk myself out of a job, and at the same time not wanting to minimise the size or importance of the issue and the task it presents, here are some of my views:
Starving to death in a boulangerie: France’s selfish energy policy
- Published on 19 May 2013
- Written by Nick Grealy
This was the week the French economy returned to recession, almost taking the rest of the Euro-Zone with it:
While Germany was able to barely sidestep a recession in the first quarter, France slid into one, according to the data on Wednesday from Eurostat, the European Union’s statistical agency. The French president, François Hollande, observed the occasion at a news conference in Brussels by indicating that his country should not be singled out for criticism.
I’ve written a lot in the past on France, and regular readers know that as a Francophone progressive, I have a very positive view on France compared to most Anglo-Saxons, but the time has come to single France out.
Poland, All about Delivery?
- Published on 16 May 2013
- Written by James Elston
There's not been much news from Poland lately and people are mistaking silence with bad news. As this guest post from James Elston shows, there's been a lot of positive activity:
As I suggested in my October 2012 article on this forum, 2013 is the make or break year for the Eastern Poland Shale Plays whilst activity is growing in the Permian Basin Carboniferous plays to the southwest. Sentiment towards nascent Polish shale gas exploration has worsened with Exxon partially withdrawing and Marathon and Talisman pulling out, all more for portfolio reasons than anything else.
Europe's Forced Reappraisal Of Shale Gas
- Published on 13 May 2013
- Written by Andrew McKillop
Another guest post, this time from Andrew McKillop . He has green energy and sustainable development experience dating back to the '70s and has long experience at DG Energy at the European Commission. His words, originally published at Market Oracle, prvides a reality check for left and right together:
EYES SET WEST European policymakers at Commission level, in European Council of ministers meetings, and in national governments now curtly say that the shale gas issue is "very political", because the subject will not go away. Allowing shale gas extraction by hydraulic fracturing to move ahead is already politically correct - in some countries such as Poland - and may soon also become correct in the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy. The logjam is breaking.
Latest Comments
Nothing beats home-g... (4)
Nothing beats home-g... (4)
Nothing beats home-g... (4)
Nothing beats home-g... (4)
The public acceptanc... (4)