The Shale Oil And Gas Debate

In the space of six years, the united States have reduced their dependence on oil by a third and have become almost self-sufficient in terms of gas supply. This “shale oil and gas revolution”, a sudden and unexpected earthquake in the energy world, enabled the US to become one of the most competitive countries in the world. Exporting this revolution could double the world gas reserves and boost those of oil by 20%. Outside North America, the main reservoirs are thought to be in China, Russia and Argentina. In the medium term, this new state of affairs will have major geopolitical consequences, fundamentally altering oil, gas and coal imports. While US imports from the Persian Gulf rapidly dwindle, those of China and India will significantly increase and as the United States becomes a gas exporter, Russia will have to find alternative markets. Although it is not ranked in the “top 10”, Europe is thought to have vast resources. Yet for the realization of a major European project, a number of geological (are European source rocks as high quality as their US counterparts?), economic (will Europe be able to develop its resources at an acceptable cost?) and societal barriers will have to be overcome. On a densely-populated, urban continent, hydraulic fracturing, water supply, microseisms and surface impact represent a battery of “threats” for the stakeholders. Changing this perception will require both pedagogy and transparency regarding the local communities. This has to be a win/win situation and not a case of give and take. In this work, written in the form of 20 questions for non-specialists, Philippe Charlez and Pascal Baylocq give you the answers to “everything you always wanted to know about shale oil and gas but never dared to ask".

Over roughly the past decade, oil and gas production in the United States has surged dramatically—thanks largely to technological advances such as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as “fracking.” This rapid increase has generated widespread debate, with proponents touting economic and energy-security benefits and opponents highlighting the environmental and social risks of increased oil and gas production. Despite the heated debate, neither side has a monopoly on the facts. In this book, Daniel Raimi gives a balanced and accessible view of oil and gas development, clearly and thoroughly explaining the key issues surrounding the shale revolution. The Fracking Debate directly addresses the most common questions and concerns associated with fracking: What is fracking? Does fracking pollute the water supply? Will fracking make the United States energy independent? Does fracking cause earthquakes? How is fracking regulated? Is fracking good for the economy? Coupling a deep understanding of the scholarly research with lessons from his travels to every major U.S. oil- and gas-producing region, Raimi highlights stories of the people and communities affected by the shale revolution, for better and for worse. The Fracking Debate provides the evidence and context that have so frequently been missing from the national discussion of the future of oil and gas production, offering readers the tools to make sense of this critical issue.

The disputes around fracking, and oil and gas policy, follow a long tradition of complicated intergovernmental relationships. Proponents argue that fracking supports new and well-paying jobs, revitalizes state and local economies, and that it can help replace reliance on other fossil fuels. Skeptics and opponents contend that oil and gas production via fracking contaminates air and water resources, causes earthquakes, and can ruin the character of many communities. Examining the intergovernmental politics of the first oil and natural gas boom of the 21st century, The Fracking Debate, Second edition offers a holistic understanding of the politics that characterize oil and natural gas operations, including why local governments are challenging their state’s preemptive authority, in order to initiate a larger conversation about improving intergovernmental relationships. Author Jonathan Fisk presents a novel argument about the ways in which local, state, regional, and national approaches to governance of shale gas development can work together to reduce conflict and forward the interests of the communities exposed to development, asking important questions such as: What state structures govern state-local relations? What state institutions impact and shape oil and gas production? What is the policymaking context in the state? What are the costs and benefits of hydraulic fracturing at the national, state, and local levels? How are risks and rewards distributed within states? What local policies have challenged the state, and why would local communities challenge the state? The result is a book that demonstrates that when stakeholders acknowledge their interdependencies and one another’s expertise, they create, design, and implement more responsive, strategic, and targeted public policies. The Fracking Debate, Second edition will be required reading for courses on oil and gas policy in the United States, environmental politics, and domestic energy politics, as well as a vital reference for practitioners and policymakers working in these fields.

The Promise and the Peril

This book discusses the economic, political, and environmental issues surrounding the international exploration and exploitation of conventional and unconventional natural gas. Shale gas development in recent years has changed the energy discussion in the US as existing reserves of natural gas coupled with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing make exploitation of these reserves economically feasible; the discussion is quickly becoming international in scope. The potential expansion of natural gas development impacts many regions of the globe and spans multiple perspectives. In a volatile international climate, one of intense geopolitical conflict between Russia and the West, economic slowdowns in Europe and China, military conflicts in the Middle East and northern Africa, and widening income disparity in the U.S., a relatively inexpensive and plentiful energy source like shale gas could play a key role in mitigating such conflicts. In an energy interdependent global community, however, multiple factors such as oil prices, differing rates of exploration, environmental concerns, strategic initiatives, institutional changes, legal and regulatory issues, and actions of the nations involved all have the potential to influence future outcomes. This book discusses each of these in turn, detailing the issues most prevalent in each geographical area. The first volume to provide a comprehensive global view of the impacts of shale gas development, this book fills a gap in the current research literature, providing vital information for the scholarly community and the public alike. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of economics, energy policy, public administration, and international relations as well as policy makers and residents of the regions that are experiencing shale gas development.

The US shale boom and efforts by other countries to exploit their shale resources could reshape energy and environmental landscapes across the world. But how might those landscapes change? Will countries with significant physical reserves try to exploit them? Will they protect or harm local communities and the global climate? Will the benefits be shared or retained by powerful interests? And how will these decisions be made? The Shale Dilemma brings together experts working at the forefront of shale gas issues on four continents to explain how countries reach their decisions on shale development. Using a common analytical framework, the authors identify both local factors and transnational patterns in the decision-making process. Eight case studies reveal the trade-offs each country makes as it decides whether to pursue, delay, or block development. Those outcomes in turn reflect the nature of a country’s political process and the power of interest groups on both sides of the issue. The contributors also ask whether the economic arguments made by the shale industry and its government supporters have overshadowed the concerns of local communities for information on the effects of shale operations, and for tax policies and regulations to ensure broad-based economic development and environmental protection. As an informative and even-handed account, The Shale Dilemma recommends practical steps to help countries reach better, more transparent, and more far-sighted decisions.

The United States has seen resurgence in petroleum production, mainly driven by technology improvements-especially hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling-developed for natural gas production from shale formations. Application of these technologies enabled natural gas to be economically produced from shale and other unconventional formations, and contributed to the United States becoming the world's largest natural gas producer in 2009. Use of these technologies has also contributed to the rise in U.S. oil production over the last few years. In 2009, annual oil production increased over 2008, the first annual rise since 1991, and has continued to increase each year since. Between January 2008 and May 2014, U.S. monthly crude oil production rose by 3.2 million barrels per day, with about 85% of the increase coming from shale and related tight oil formations in Texas and North Dakota. Other tight oil plays are also being developed, helping raise the prospect of energy independence, especially for North America. The rapid expansion of tight oil and shale gas extraction using high-volume hydraulic fracturing has raised concerns about its potential environmental and health impacts. These concerns include potential direct impacts to groundwater and surface water quality, water supplies, and air quality. In addition, some have raised concerns about potential long-term and indirect impacts from reliance on fossil fuels and resulting greenhouse gas emissions and influence on broader energy economics. This report focuses mainly on actions related to controlling potential direct impacts. States are the primary regulators of oil and gas production on non-federal lands. State laws and regulations governing oil and gas production have been evolving across the states in response to changes in production practices as producers have expanded into tight oil, shale gas, and other unconventional hydrocarbon formations. However, state rules vary considerably, leading to calls for more federal oversight of unconventional oil and gas extraction activities, and hydraulic fracturing specifically. Although provisions of several federal environmental laws can apply to certain activities related to oil and gas production, proposals to expand federal regulation in this area have been highly controversial. Some advocates of a larger federal role point to a wide range of differences among state regulatory regimes, and argue that a national framework is needed to ensure a consistent minimum level of protection for surface and groundwater resources, and air quality. Others argue against more federal involvement, and point to the long-established state oil and natural gas regulatory programs, regional differences in geology and water resources, and concern over regulatory redundancy. The federal role in regulating oil and gas extraction activities-and hydraulic fracturing, in particular-has been the subject of considerable debate and legislative proposals for several years, but legislation has not been enacted. While congressional debate has continued, the Administration has pursued a number of regulatory initiatives related to unconventional oil and gas development under existing statutory authorities.

The search for cheap, plentiful and reliable energy has become one of the holy grails of modern industrial society. Since the Western technologically-advanced nations own supplies began to deplete from the 1970s those economies became increasingly dependent on foreign oil, especially from volatile (and potentially hostile) areas in the Middle East, and gas from the world’s major producer - Russia. The discovery of large deposits of shale oil and gas in North America and across other parts of the world has been a major game changer as it puts the control of energy back in the hands of the US and its European partners. These countries had been trying to develop alternative, renewable resources for many years without any real major breakthrough and these sources still only offer a very small percentage of the total (and growing) energy requirements. Shale gas and oil offers abundant supply within the geographical areas of US and Europe and self-sufficiency for, potentially, another century. But the method of extracting these resources – fracking – has become an area of major controversy, sparking one of the great political and economic debates of modern times. Shale gas and oil promises massive benefits to the US and other economies; but are the health and environmental risks just too great?