Friday, May 27, 2011

Study: North America Dominates Global Shale Gas Market

by Jonathan Katz, IndustryWeek, May 26, 2011
North America will hold a 78% share of the global shale gas production in 10 years because of the region's technical expertise and availability of resources, according to a report released May 25 by Markets and Markets [please see remarks below -- D.R.].

In 2010 North America was the only region active with commercial shale gas production. But current exploration and production activities by major oil and gas companies in Europe and Asia Pacific are expected to lead to shale gas commercialization in these regions by 2016, the report says.

The markets representing high growth rate in shale gas production from 2016 to 2021 are China (6.2%), Poland (6%), France (5.4%) [regarding shale exploration in France, please see my post "Shale Gas Development in Europe" below -- D.R.], South Africa (5.1%) and the United States (5%).

Global shale gas production is expected to grow to 6,991 billion cubic feet in 2021 at a compound annual growth rate of 5.4% [sic; from 2011] through 2021. [Please see remarks below -- D.R.]

Rising shale gas production will likely boost ethylene production by 6.6% by 2021. Ethylene is a feedstock [that can also be] derived from natural gas that is used in petrochemicals. [Also, please see my post, including remarks, here -- D.R.]

Challenges that could hinder shale gas development include the capital-intensive nature of shale gas projects and environmental issues associated with hydraulic fracturing. [Full story]

(Please see a press release from Markets and Markets "MarketsandMarkets: Global Shale Gas Market to reach 6.9 tcf by 2021 and With 78% Market Share North America Continues to dominate the Shale Gas Market." According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration/EIA, in the past 10 years, U.S. shale gas production has increased more than 12-fold from 0.39 trillion cubic feet/tcf in 2000 to 4.87 tcf in 2010. In 2010, U.S. shale gas production constituted 23 percent of total U.S. natural gas production---please see here. For exploration of shale gas in Poland, please see my post "Marathon, Nexen to Jointly Explore Shale in Poland," here. For shale gas in Europe, please see my post "World Watch [Shale Gas Development in Europe]," here. For China's quest for unconventional gas, please see my post "China Plans to Exploit its Shale Gas Resources," here. For Mexico's first shale gas production, please see, inter alia, here. Also, please see Table: Estimated Shale Gas Technically Recoverable Resources for Select Basins in 32 Countries, Compared to Existing Reported Reserves, Production and Consumption during 2009 --- EIA, here. -- D.R.)

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