Shale Being Pushed To Top-Tier Prominence
A new article written by Altira Group‘s Dirk McDermott for the Greentech Media blog credits natural gas – including shale gas – as being a top-tier energy contender, a dramatic shift from its nearly-forgotten-about status less than a decade ago.
The key to this “natural gas renaissance,” has been technology.
“These new reserves have been exploited by a large group of relatively unknown players, the independents,” he writes. “They approached these new reserves opportunistically, and leveraging new technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, they broke the mold. They approached reservoir development from a completely new perspective.”
Indeed independents may have led the way in the US shale boom, but now most of the major oil players are getting involved on a global scale. Companies such as Shell, Exxon Mobil, Reliance Industries, andChevron – just to name a few – have been acquiring stakes in shale plays around the world over the past year or two.
The movement towards shale gas hasn’t only changed the oil and gas industry, McDermott says, it has also allowed for a more renewable energy future.
“Natural gas is sure to comprise increasing percentages of the power generation mix, displacing dirtier coal, nuclear, and, of course, challenging high-cost renewables,” he says. “It is even conceivable that gas will emerge as a transportation fuel — not overnight, but it may play a large role in fueling fleets in the future.”
Short URL: http://naturalgasforamerica.com/?p=1080
Posted by admin
on August 4th, 2010. Filed under Environment, Shale Gas.
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