Shale gas | energy markets
Europe is lagging the world in its development of shale oil and gas. AMI Consulting senior vice president Noru Tsalic looks at why shale is so important and counters some of the arguments of opponents
Europe needs to act on shale
It has been observed many times before that energy is the lifeblood of global economy. Reasonably priced energy is the enabler of almost everything to do with modern life – from basic survival needs to the produc- tion of sophisticated goods and services. But where does that energy come from? In recent years, we have heard and read a lot about renewable energy; does that mean that mankind is moving away from the more traditional sources? Well, not quite! As the data in Figure 1 unequivocally shows, we are using more fossil fuels than ever before. In fact, even consumption of coal (by far the most polluting from a climate change point of view) is still growing. The latest available data (2012) shows that coal accounted for no less than 30% of global energy inputs, only slightly below oil (33%) and well above natural gas (24%). As for renewable sources, they accounted for a mere 2% of the world’s energetic balance. Fossil fuel is what overwhelmingly powers China’s
manufacturing engine, supplying more than 90% of the country’s primary energy. China’s huge reserves of easily-exploitable low cost coal supplied 68% of that energy demand in 2012.
But it’s not just China. Coal still accounts for a
signifi cant proportion of primary energy production in the US (20% of the total) and even in the climate-change conscious European Union (18%). As for renewable sources (such as solar, wind power,
etc), in 2012 they accounted for around 2% of US primary energy production – in line with the global average. Not so in the European Union, where the proportion of renewables has reached about 6%. This is a fairly meagre result, in view of the fact it was achieved in return for huge investments – which were directly or (more often) indirectly paid by the consumers. So why is this? For those disinclined to believe
conspiracy theories about oil companies sabotaging tomorrow’s survival for today’s profi t, the answer is clear: renewable technologies are still in their infancy. Renewable technology is, by-and-large, still incapable of delivering energy at competitive costs of production. This does not mean renewable energy generation technologies should be abandoned or neglected. Quite the opposite, in fact: more work should be invested in research and development aimed at fi nding innovative solutions. A certain level of commercial-scale applica- tion is also necessary, to provide experience and testing
May 2014 | PIPELINE COATING 11 Main image:
Test shale gas drilling in
Poland’s Lublin basin, one of Europe’s biggest
potential shale reserves
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