Huge opportunities in EU shale gas
Regulatory concerns and infrastructure issues must be overcome if European shale-gas output is to reach 35 billion cm by 2020
Shale-gas production in Europe could reach 35 billion cubic metres a year (cm/y) by 2020, or about 20% of EU member states’ output now, with Poland and the UK the leading producers, says a new report. Unconventional Gas World Production & Drilling Forecast, a study by consultants Douglas Westwood, claims shale-gas output in Poland and the UK could reach 11 billion cm and 2 billion cm respectively by 2020. Poland has been aggressively promoting domestic shale-gas drilling and last month Cuadrilla Resources claimed to have discovered 5.7 trillion cm in northern England. Prospects for developing shale-gas resources beyond North America are “looking good”, said analyst Joseph Dutton, author
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