US offers shale gas technical assistance

Plans for US technical assistance were outlined at a first-of-a-kind international shale gas conference in Washington USA, this week. Twenty countries were in attendance at the conference where US firms delivered technical talks, and the US government offered technical assistance in developing shale gas assets to developing countries such as India and China.

Shale gas is natural gas buried deep in shale formations, it was previously thought to be impossible to extract but recent technological developments have changed this outlook. It is now possible to extract the gas through a process known as hydraulic fracturing, where a mixture of water and drilling chemicals are pumped into the shale formation, breaking it up and freeing the natural gas within. Though there are some potential environmental implications arising from the drilling chemicals used in the process, the gas produced is still cleaner burning than coal.

With the vast discoveries of shale gas made in the US, it has now become the world’s largest gas producer ahead of Russia. It also has the technological edge in developing shale gas assets; although the conference organisers were keen to assert that the talks were not a trade conference to promote their expertise in the field.

"The main reasons for doing it are national security and climate security," David Goldwyn, the State Department's coordinator on international energy affairs, said of the conference. US officials believe that if India and China developed their respective shale gas assets, it could seriously reduce their dependence on coal, and reduce their emissions. Reliance Industries, based in India, has already been investing heavily in joint ventures with US firms to exploit shale gas plays

Shale gas has also been billed as an energy source that could help countries assert their energy independence, particularly in Eastern Europe. Poland has embraced the shale gas idea and is currently surveying for shale gas in a bid to break its reliance on Russia; some estimates have put potential reserves at 3 trillion m³.

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