State Support and Assessment of the Feasibility of Shale Gas Production

Author(s):  
Mikhail I. Khoroshiltsev

The article analyzes shale gas production in the United States and calculates its economic efficiency. The development of shale gas production became possible due to the combination of tight reservoirs in a single technological process of drilling and hydraulic fracturing. A technological breakthrough in gas production made it economically attractive for investors (considering the prices of that period) to develop unconventional hydrocarbon deposits. At the same time, like any new industrial sector, the development of shale gas is associated with significant costs at various levels.

Author(s):  
Mykhaiskyi Oleksii

Ensuring energy security has always been one of Ukraine's main problems. Now the level of shale gas production in Ukraine allows to cover only half of the country's needs in this type of fuel. According to the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035, one of the priorities of development in the fuel and energy sector is to increase the level of gas production to 30–35 billion m3 of gas per year, including at the expense of non-traditional hydrocarbons, among which shale gas can be allocated. However, it should be noted that Ukraine's modern mining industry does not provide an adequate level of environmental protection. This problem becomes even more acute in the context of the possible production of shale gas, which requires state-of-the-art production technologies and a flexible regulatory system. Today, the United States is the most developed country in shale gas production. It is the United States that has the largest experience of shale gas production among all countries of the world, and its legislation has been shaped by the realities of shale gas production since the 1980s. The article analyzed U.S. legislation in terms of environmental and legal regulation of shale gas production. Consideration has been given to U.S. legislation that regulates the protection of water, air, soil from pollution, as well as waste management legislation and the disclosure of confidential information related to shale gas extraction necessary to protect the environment, as well as human life and health. The US legislative structure is analyzed and it is revealed that federal legislation does not provide the proper level of environmental protection, which is why the environmental and legal regulation of shale gas production occurs mainly at the state level. The main problem of regulating shale gas production at the federal level is the so-called «Halibarton loophole», due to which operations using hydraulic fracturing are removed from the regulation of most federal environmental standards. There is no such norm in Ukrainian legislation, but the Law of Ukraine "On Agreements on Division of Products" is not regulated by the Law of Ukraine "On Oil and Gas," this makes it possible to fix in the agreement on division of products all nuances related to shale gas production. At the same time, this is a significant risk of the occurrence of a case in which the agreement, contrary to Ukrainian legislation, will neglect the interests of the environment. That is why Ukraine needs standards like NAAQS, which also apply to legal relations arising from the signing of a production sharing agreement, which would avoid disregard of Ukrainian legislation when signing a production sharing agreement. The article also addresses the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act and states that it requires an operator using hydraulic fracturing to provide information necessary for medical diagnosis, treatment or emergency response. In doing so, the operator, once such information has been disclosed to the State or health worker, may require a written declaration of the need for disclosure and a confidentiality agreement as soon as possible after it has been determined by the State or medical institution. It is proposed to develop a similar bill and introduce it into Ukrainian legislation.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Miriam R. Aczel ◽  
Karen E. Makuch

High-volume hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling has “revolutionized” the United States’ oil and gas industry by allowing extraction of previously inaccessible oil and gas trapped in shale rock [1]. Although the United States has extracted shale gas in different states for several decades, the United Kingdom is in the early stages of developing its domestic shale gas resources, in the hopes of replicating the United States’ commercial success with the technologies [2, 3]. However, the extraction of shale gas using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling poses potential risks to the environment and natural resources, human health, and communities and local livelihoods. Risks include contamination of water resources, air pollution, and induced seismic activity near shale gas operation sites. This paper examines the regulation of potential induced seismic activity in Oklahoma, USA, and Lancashire, UK, and concludes with recommendations for strengthening these protections.


2014 ◽  
Vol 978 ◽  
pp. 157-160
Author(s):  
Rong Huo ◽  
Kai Bo Duan

With the furthering of China’s all round reform, there will be greater economic growth and more urgent demands for energy. And the achievements of shale gas exploration and development in the United States provide a lot of lessons for domestic gas and oil exploration and development [Figure. 1]. However, the introduction of the matured foreign exploration and development technologies also suffers a great challenge. This paper aims to analyzing the problems in the exploration and development in China’s typical exploration areas and the measures that have been taken. Also, it sums up the emerging technologies and methods in the world, hoping to boost the future exploration and development of shale gas in China in a certain way. Fig. 1 U.S. dry natural gas production ( drawn from EIA)


2014 ◽  
Vol 978 ◽  
pp. 161-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rong Huo ◽  
Kai Bo Duan

Because the United States has achieved significant success on shale gas exploration and development, which makes a number of countries in North America, Europe to begin to make a series of exploration work [1]. China also launched China's first shale gas resource exploration project in Qijiang County, Chongqing in October 2009. According to the Shale Gas “Twelfth Five-year” Development Plan, the shale gas production will reach 60 - 100 billion cubic meters in 2020. This paper will make a brief review on shale gas formation conditions and the exploration and development projects already have been undertaken, hoping to provide some supports for the development of China's unconventional energy.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merryn Thomas ◽  
Nick Pidgeon ◽  
Darrick Evensen ◽  
Tristan Partridge ◽  
Ariel Hasell ◽  
...  

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