Shale Gas by Valentin and Lucas

What is Shale Gas ?

Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States over the past decade, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. One analyst expects shale gas to supply as much as half the natural gas production in North America by 2020.

Here are several animations in order to better understand what shale gas is:

http://www.dangersoffracking.com/

http://www.marketplace.org/topics/sustainability/one-fracking-minute-animated- explainer-hydraulic-fracturing

http://app.owni.fr/gaz/ (French animation)

 In France, there is a debate on shale gas. That's what we will see now.

                       

From the political point of view..

 According to our Industrial Renewal Minister Arnaud Montebourg: France isn’t prepared to tap its shale energy resources until « clean technologies » are invented to replace hydraulic fracturing.

 The technique known as fracking causes « irreversible pollution » in some cases, the minister was cited as saying in an interview published in Les Echos newspaper. It will probably be replaced by a different methods, he said.

The French parliament passed a law last year outlawing fracking because of concern it can pollute drinking water, effectively halting plans by companies including Total to explore for shale gas in southern France. Fracking is widely used in the United States, including by Total, to produce gas.

 « Hydraulic fracturing is and will remain banned and currently it’s the only way to produce shale gas » said the Environment and Energy Minister Delphine Bath: « Debate is now centered on a technology that doesn’t exist right now to my knowledge. A new technique hasn’t yet been demonstrated. »

Total Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said: « France should have the courage to explore for shale gas. Because when we are in a difficult economic situation like today and we have the possibility to maybe find gas, which is cleaner than oil and coal, and as we are questioning nuclear energy, it would be a shame not to develop gas. Environmental issues have to be addressed as we go along. »

Fracking uses water, sand and chemicals to open fissures in rocks and release gas and oil. Following passage of the French law in parliament, the previous government suspended the rights of energy companies to explore for shale gas around Paris and in southern France.

France and Poland are the two countries with the biggest potentially recoverable reserves of shale gas in Europe, according to the International Energy Agency.

The French law banning fracking allows for experiments into the procedure overseen by a national commission that must report back to the government annually. It’s not clear whether the new government will install this commission.

 Economically speaking...

 At the economic level, the exploitation of shale gas would be very advantageous. Indeed, the import of gas costs 11 billion Euros per year to France !! Exploiting gas in our country has three advantages: - Reducing our trade deficit by 11 billion € per year;

                    - Creating jobs and value added in France of 5 billion € annually through the local production of gas at a cost close to 50% of the value of imports;

                    - Saving 5 billion € per year in competitiveness for companies and purchasing power of households with access to cheaper energy.

  

From the environmental perspective...

 First, the water tables are at shallow depth, maximum of 600 meters, while gas deposits are at a great depth (a few thousand meters) under many impermeable rock layers. The risk is that the boreholes pass through the acquifères, but leaks are unlikely if the rules, namely the casing and cementing are applied correctly.

Then, the hydraulic fracturings. More than 2 million hydraulic fracturings have been performed worldwide, including 1 million in the United States, because this technique is 60 years old and is used in all oil fields to maximize production. Close to us, in the Netherlands, not less than 1000 fractures were performed to exploit this gas.

The water consumption during the fracturing operation, which is done only once, is 10 000 to 20 000 m3 per well, the equivalent of six Olympic swimming pools !!

The influence on the ground during the drilling reaches 100 meters by 100 meters including the settling pond of water. However, at the end of the operation to move to the operational phase it stays put some wellheads 3 meters apart from each other trapped in a small enclosure mesh and the operator has a contractual obligation return the site to its original condition. The gas transmission pipelines are buried at a depth of 3 meters.

Conclusion

To conclude, shale gas has advantages at the economic level and disadvantages at the environmental level. For the moment, the exploitation of this energy in France is prohibited. But maybe it will change in future years because, what wouldn't people do to earn money?

 Let us conclude with a well-known French saying which states:

Quand le dernier arbre sera abattu, la dernière rivière asséchée, le dernier poisson péché l'homme s'apercevra que l'argent n'est pas comestible.

(When the last tree is cut down, the last river drained and the last fish caught, man will realize that money isn't edible...)