SHALE GAS AND ITS COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL IN UKRAINE Paper 1. The current state of shale gas problem (in the light of experience of its resources development in USA)

• Дата: 2010
• Автор: Lukin, A. Yе.
• Формат: Стаття
• Мова: Російська
• Опубліковано: Institute of Geological Sciences, NAS of Ukraine 2010
• Онлайн доступ: http://geojournal.igs-nas.org.ua/article/view/219195
• Назва журналу: Geological journal

USA natural gas production in 2008 increased abruptly (by 7,5% or 41,7 billions m3). This phenomenon has become unexpected for world hydrocarbons resources experts. In 2009 this tendency has been preserved (further rise of natural gas production by 4,5% as compared with previous year) with the result that USA has become ahead of Russia by total volume of natural gas extraction (respectively 620 and 583 billions m3). In due course it was brought to light that this outstanding fact of great world-economic and geopolitic importance is connected with development of the resources of shale gas, as it is called. That is to say, the type of natural gas dispersed and occluded in black shales. Tremendous resources of gasiferous black shales (sedtimentary pelitomorphic rocks with heightened content of organic mater) in North America, powerful ecotnomic potential, advanced drilling technology and pool of experience of gas extraction of nontraditional (central-basin, coal-bed and black shale) gas, highly developed infrastructure, the proximity of gasiferous black shales areas to the regions of gas consumption, the financial backing of the government (preferential taxation of non-traditional natural gas production) – taking together all these factors make profitable develtopment of shale gas and are of great aid in growing of its importance in North-American fuel-energetic comtplexes. Contrary to other countries the shale gas resources of USA have been reliably evaluated. They are above 1500 trillions m3. So all forecasts for USA gas production hold certain validity. According to these caltculations it will be extracted 51 billions m3 (about 10% of the total natural gas production) of shale gas in USA in 2010. It is expected that shale gas production will reach 180 billions m3 in 2015 and above 220 billions m3 (half of total annual production) to 2020. The american experience in shale gas development are of unquestionable importance for global energetic strategy. However other countries will face economic, technologic and ecologic problem inevitably in development of shale gas.