"The mood is downright gloomy at the Shale UK conference this week, where various stakeholders in the country’s fledgling industry are bemoaning a lack of progress in tapping the countries estimated 1.3 quadrillion cubic feet of natural gas trapped in shale. Despite having some of the thicker—and therefore easier to drill—shale in Europe, faulted stratigraphy, stunted support infrastructure, and a byzantine regulatory environment are preventing Britain from imitating America’s shale success. The FT reports:
Exploration is expensive and it is easy to spend more on drilling a well than the value of gas that comes out of the ground. Drilling costs are significantly higher in the UK than the US. "...
The Economist had an article about this a while ago and said the same thing. And they said most of Europe has similar issues. Keep depending on Russia.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
FredHayek wrote: The Economist had an article about this a while ago and said the same thing. And they said most of Europe has similar issues. Keep depending on Russia.
LNG baby.
"The U.S. is producing more natural gas than ever and aims to export the commodity as liquefied natural gas, or LNG. But some companies are facing an increasingly long wait for the Energy Department to finish reviewing their proposed LNG export projects."
The Economist would love to see those new LNG export facilities. And Europe wonders if the slow progress is for political reasons, lack of export market keeping prices artificially low in the US. Downside? If prices and demand are kept too low a lot of drilling won't happen.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
