Europe has become dependent on Russia for much of its natural gas. Russia supplied about 33% of EU’s natural gas in 2007.

On at least two occasions, Russia has cut off the supply of natural gas to European nations. The gas cut-offs left hundreds of thousands of Europeans shivering in the cold.

Russia has done all it could to prevent the building of alternative pipelines that could supply Europe with natural gas from sources outside Russia.

The recent emergence of natural gas from shale could change Europe’s dependence on Russia for natural gas.

Exxon’s new discovery of a huge natural gas field from shale in Canada has made the headlines. Earlier discoveries by other energy companies of natural gas from the Barnet and Haynesville shale fields have suddenly created a glut of natural gas in the United States.

Little mention has been made that Exxon and others are exploring for natural gas from shale in Europe.

Exxon is accumulating leases in shale formations in Germany, Hungary and Poland. “Tests on two wells in Hungary, where Exxon and its partners hold leases on 400,000 acres, are expected this year. It will be the first time the shale there has been tested.”

Exxon also holds 750,000 acres in northern Germany and plans to sink 10 wells to investigate the potential for natural gas production there.

"There's a possibility that under our feet are the same kind of shale-gas deposits that you have in the United States," said Brian Horsfield, a professor of organic geochemistry at the GFZ German Research Center for Geosciences in Potsdam, Germany. "There are many of the same types of shale formations in Europe."

While it will take several years to develop natural gas from shale in Europe, it represents the first possibility that Europe can achieve freedom from Russia.

Another alternative, the Nabucco pipeline traversing Turkey and several eastern European countries, was given a breath of life when the governments of these countries signed an agreement allowing the pipeline to pass through all their countries. The Nabucco venture has one problem; it still does not have a source of natural gas, and without a confirmed source it will be difficult to get the financing (approximately $8 Billion) for the project..

There is a danger that environmentalists will challenge the practice of fracturing which is needed to release the gas from the shale. In 2005 the EPA said fracturing was safe, but environmentalists are now challenging that assertion.

Sources: The Heritage Foundation. The Wall Street Journal. The New York Times.

TSAugust

August 12, 2009