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66 May 2015
Global Marketplace
producers of either natural gas from shale formations (shale
gas) or crude oil from tight formations (tight oil); only the US
and Canada produce both.
China produces some small amounts of shale gas, while
Argentina produces some small amounts of tight oil. Although
hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) techniques have been used to
produce natural gas and tight oil in Australia and Russia, the
volumes produced did not come from low-permeability shale
formations.
Also according to the EIA, the four countries producing
commercial volumes of shale gas and tight oil all raised their
output in 2014. In all four, natural gas and crude oil production
from shale and tight formations grew at a faster rate last year
than production from non-shale and non-tight formations.
What Mr Aloulou characterises as “notable shale resource
exploration efforts” are under way in several countries,
including Algeria, Australia, Colombia, Mexico and Russia.
However, he wrote, commercial shale development of the
type seen in the US requires the ability to rapidly drill and
complete a large number of wells in a single productive
geologic formation.
The logistics and infrastructure necessary to support this level
of activity – including the drilling and completion processes,
the manufacture of drilling equipment, and the distribution of
the final product to market – are not yet evident other than in
the US, Canada, China and, to some extent, Argentina.
The EIA noted that other above-the-ground factors – such
as ownership of mineral rights, taxation regimes and social
acceptance – also play a role in decisions regarding the
development of shales and other tight resources.
Elsewhere in oil and gas . . .
› The US government is predicting that trains hauling crude
oil or ethanol will derail an average of ten times a year
over the next two decades, causing more than $4 billion in
damage and possible fatalities in densely populated areas.
The projection, from a Department of Transportation analysis,
reviewed the risks of moving vast quantities of both fuels
across the nation and through major cities. Based on past
accident trends, anticipated shipping volumes and known
ethanol and crude rail routes, the analysis predicted about 15
derailments in 2015, declining to about five a year by 2034.
The study was completed in July 2014 but drew attention
on 16 February when a train loaded with crude derailed in
West Virginia. The fiery accident was the latest in a series,
and senior federal officials said it emphasises the need
for stronger tank cars and more effective braking systems,
among other safety improvements. The volume of flammable
liquids transported by rail in the US has risen dramatically
over the last decade, driven mainly by the oil shale boom in
North Dakota and Montana. This year, nearly 900,000 loads of
oil and ethanol are expected to move by rail in tank cars, each
holding 30,000 gallons of fuel.
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