IEA World Energy Outlook special report on unconventional gas
“Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas”
Summary of Selected Key Outcomes
Last updated 15 June 2012
GOVERNMENT
 G8 Camp David Summit (page 2)
 Polish Ministry of Environment (page 3)
BUSINESS





American Petroleum Institute (page 5)
America’s Natural Gas Alliance (page 6)
Investor Environmental Health Network (page 7)
Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (page 9)
The European Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change, the North
American Investor Network on Climate Risk and the Australia/New Zealand
Investor Group on Climate Change (page 10)
NGOs
 World Wildlife Fund (page 14)
 Friends of the Earth (page 16)
MEDIA
 The Economist: two articles including leaders section in print version (page 17)
 The New York Times: Sunday editorial in print version (page 22)
 Financial Times (page 23)
 The Wall Street Journal (page 25)
 Euractiv (page 27)
 Reuters (page 30)
 Bloomberg (page 31)
 Platts (page 33)
 China Daily (page 35)
 Rzeczpospolita: leading Polish daily (page 37)
 Le Monde: leading French daily (page 38)
 Corriere Della Sera: leading Italian daily (page 39)
BLOGS
 Council on Foreign Relations (page 40)
 New York Times (page 42)
 Washington Post (page 43)
 CNN (page 45)
VIDEOS


CNN: http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/10/zakaria-the-gamechanger-in-the-geopolitics-of-energy/
CNBC: http://video.cnbc.com/gallery/?video=3000092877&play=1
G8 Action on Energy and Climate Change
Summits | Meetings | Publications | Research | Search | Home
Analytical Studies
Summits > 2012 G8 Camp David Summit
Fact Sheet: G8 Action on Energy and Climate
Change
U.S. State Department, May 19, 2012
[français]
At the Camp David Summit, G8 Leaders recognized that the development of and universal access
to environmentally safe, sustainable, secure, and affordable sources of energy is essential to global
economic growth and to their overall efforts to address climate change. As such, they identified
several actions for the G8 to take together:
Pursue a Comprehensive Energy Strategy – Safely
Recognize the value of simultaneously pursuing a wide variety of energy sources in order to
meet energy demands, acknowledging each nation’s different needs and different approaches.
In pursuing an appropriate mix from all of the above, we recognize that different energy
sources have different inherent risks and must be developed in a safe, efficient, and
environmentally sustainable manner.
Support the G-20 Global Marine Environment Protection initiative to develop a Best Practices
Sharing Mechanism (GMEP Mechanism), available to all interested countries and
stakeholders, for the exchange of best practices for offshore oil and gas exploration and
development in an effort to help prevent future accidents.
Welcome and agree to review the International Energy Agency’s work on potential best
practices for natural gas development as an input into our effort to share information on
strategies for its environmentally safe and sustainable production.
Recognize the important work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), particularly
full implementation of its Action Plan on Nuclear Safety, and strengthened cooperation
between governments, the nuclear energy industry, and the IAEA. Encourage all Parties to
make full use of the upcoming extraordinary meeting of the Convention on Nuclear Safety to
enhance and strengthen the effectiveness of the international legal framework by the most
efficient and practicable means available. Notes the importance of the upcoming December
http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/summit/2012campdavid/g8-energy-factsheet.html[10-Jun-12 18:32:17]
Drukuj
Polska liderem w poszukiwaniu gazu z łupków
Raport Międzynarodowej Agencji Energetycznej (ang. International Energy Agency - IEA) dotyczy wydobycia
gazu ziemnego z formacji łupkowych, wpływu na światowe rynki energii oraz aspektów środowiskowych i
regulacyjnych związanych z eksploatacją. Jest to jeden z najważniejszych kompleksowych dokumentów,
związanych z tą tematyką, jaki powstał w ostatnim czasie.
„Raport Międzynarodowej Agencji Energetycznej znajdzie z pewnością uznanie w środowisku inwestorów. Poza tym, że
podkreśla znaczenie gazu z łupków dla przyszłości globalnego rynku energetycznego to potwierdza jednocześnie, że jego
wydobycie jest bezpieczne dla środowiska naturalnego, przy zachowaniu wypraktykowanych standardów
technologicznych. Rozwiązania rekomendowane w raporcie w dużej części są stosowane w praktyce wydobywczej w
Polsce od dawna, a teraz mają szansę na uniwersalne stosowanie w innych krajach na świecie. Raport poparty
autorytetem MAE będzie też wyjątkowo użyteczną pomocą w dyskusjach na forach europejskich” – komentuje
dokument wiceminister środowiska Piotr Woźniak, Główny Geolog Kraju.
Międzynarodowa Agencja Energetyczna wskazuje podstawowe warunki dotyczące poszukiwań i produkcji, jakie
muszą być spełnione aby wykorzystać potencjał związany z wydobyciem gazu ziemnego ze złóż
niekonwencjonalnych. Raport podkreśla, że realizacja projektów wydobywczych powinna uwzględniać aspekty
techniczne i społeczne związane bezpośrednio z procesem produkcji gazu ziemnego. Wydobycie gazu ziemnego z
formacji łupkowych jest opłacalne i przy zachowaniu odpowiednich standardów zapewnia bezpieczeństwo
środowiska naturalnego.
Rekomendacje przedstawione w raporcie obejmują procedury zatwierdzania, monitoringu i kontroli prac, które
zostały wypracowane i są stosowane przez podległe ministrowi środowiska instytucje nadzorujące (m. in. Wyższy
Urząd Górniczy). Procedury te obejmują np. kontrolę właściwego zaprojektowania i wykonania konstrukcji
otworu, zapobieganie obsypywaniu ścian oraz przedostawaniu się płynu szczelinującego, a później gazu do
poziomów chronionych, w tym m.in. poziomów wodonośnych.
W „Golden Rules” jest przedstawiony szereg rozwiązań stosowanych w Polsce. Obejmują one np. ograniczanie
wpływu hałasu w czasie wierceń i szczelinowań, stosowanie napędów elektrycznych, obudów dźwiękochłonnych
maszyn i urządzeń, a także ekranów ochronnych oddzielających skupiska mieszkalne od miejsc wykonywania
robót.
Raport wskazuje także konieczność udziału lokalnych społeczności w zyskach z wydobycia, potrzebę promocji
innowacyjności i wymiany technologii oraz najlepszych praktyk i standardów pracy. Odpowiedź na te zalecenia
znajdzie się w przygotowanym przez ministra środowiska projekcie ustawy „Prawo o wydobywaniu
węglowodorów, ich opodatkowaniu i Funduszu Węglowodorowym”. Do obowiązków Pełnomocnika Rządu ds.
rozwoju wydobywania węglowodorów, który ma zostać powołany i umiejscowiony w Ministerstwie Środowiska w
http://www.mos.gov.pl/drukuj/18618_polska_liderem_w_poszukiwaniu_gazu_z_lupkow.html[10-Jun-12 18:04:26]
Drukuj
najbliższym czasie, będą należały także te działania.
Niezależnie od zapisów ustawy i powołania pełnomocnika wiele zależy od aktywności samorządów. W Polsce
powstaje szereg inicjatyw na rzecz rozwoju regionów w kontekście poszukiwania gazu ziemnego z łupków.
Ministerstwo Środowiska aktywnie wspiera te inicjatywy i uznaje duży potencjał w ilości projektów dotyczących
tematyki gazu ziemnego z formacji łupkowych.
Więcej:
Raport "Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas World" (w języku angielskim)
Synteza raportu (w języku polskim)
Printed: 2012-06-10 18:05
URL: http://www.mos.gov.pl/drukuj/18618_polska_liderem_w_poszukiwaniu_gazu_z_lupkow.html
http://www.mos.gov.pl/drukuj/18618_polska_liderem_w_poszukiwaniu_gazu_z_lupkow.html[10-Jun-12 18:04:26]
API welcomes IEA’s natural gas report
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Home » News & Media » News » API welcomes IEA’s natural gas report
API welcomes IEA’s natural gas report
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Reid Porter | 202.682.8114 | [email protected]
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Urgent Issues
American Energy
WASHINGTON, June 1, 2012 - API welcomed the U.S. release of the International Energy Agency (IEA) report “Golden
Rules for a Golden Age of Gas,” noting that the report’s proposals are based on API’s standards and leadership on
Keystone XL Pipeline
hydraulic fracturing best practices.
“API is happy to see that the IEA’s formal recommendations in the final report were based on API’s five main standards
Hydraulic Fracturing
for hydraulic fracturing,” said API Upstream Policy Advisor Amy Emmert. “This clearly reinforces API’s effectiveness as
a global leader in U.S. oil and natural gas industry standards.
“The industry is committed to protecting our employees, the environment, and the communities where we operate, all
while increasing energy security by safely and responsibly developing energy from shale.”
From Our Blog
Emmert added that API’s industry standards and best practices are developed through a transparent standards process
to ensure that they reflect and address current operational practices, regulatory realities, and public concerns.
Accreditation of API’s standards program by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) signifies that the
Grist for the Jobs Creation
Discussion
procedures API uses to create standards meet all of ANSI’s essential requirements for openness, balance, consensus
and due process. ANSI last reaccredited API’s program in 2011. ANSI also accredits programs at several national
laboratories.
Waiting for Jobs in Wayne County
“API’s ANSI accredited process is vetted by diverse stakeholders in the U.S. and validated by third parties,” said
Emmert. “IEA’s report is helping to advance what we started on a global scale and we look forward to continuing this
open process and expanding the conversation to other countries.”
The schedule and work program for API’s hydraulic fracturing related documents were published in the Federal Register
A Need For Reality-Based Energy
Policies
In Pursuit of All-of-the-Above Energy
and are available on the API website.
API represents more than 500 oil and natural gas companies, leaders of a technology-driven industry that supplies
most of America’s energy, supports 9.2 million U.S. jobs and 7.7 percent of the U.S. economy, delivers more than $86
million a day in revenue to our government, and, since 2000, has invested more than $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects
to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives.
http://www.api.org/news-and-media/news/newsitems/2012/jun-2012/api-welcomes-iea-natural-gas-report.aspx[10-Jun-12 17:43:54]
The Shale Revolution and Swing
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ANGA Comments on IEA Study on Natural Gas - America's Natural Gas Alliance
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ANGA Comments on IEA Study on Natural Gas
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May 29, 2012
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Background: Following is a statement by America's Natural Gas Alliance's President and Chief Executive Officer Regina
Press Releases
Hopper on the International Energy Agency's report, The Golden Rules for the Golden Age of Natural Gas.
Live
"While we appreciate IEA's acknowledgement of the role natural gas can play in the world's energy picture, it is important to note
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commitment to safe and responsible development."
that it is already playing a pivotal role and, through advanced technology and science, producers are fully demonstrating their
"In calling for the industry to "address" environmental issues, the IEA has ignored concrete steps that have been taken and
effective practices already in place to produce this vital resource while protecting our other natural resources. Using FracFocus to
disclose chemicals in hydraulic fracturing fluids, and the work with states to employ this tool as a model for state-based disclosure
rules are two examples. Another is the recent adoption of recommended best practices for production in the Appalachian Shales.
These efforts at transparency in operations exemplify our work in partnership with communities to further protect local land, air
and water.
"The IEA also fails to account for recent examples of how states are best suited to oversee operations, as shown in places like
Pennsylvania and Texas, where the EPA has had to back off of statements on its findings and on the science.
"The message that should be taken from this study is that we need not trade the protection of our environment for the many
benefits natural gas can offer in terms of energy security, jobs and economic advancement, and clean air. Through our
commitment to safe and responsible development, it is abundantly clear that we can have both."
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©2012 ANGA — America's Natural Gas Alliance
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GROUPS: IEA “GOLDEN RULES” FOR FRACKING TRACK CLOSELY WITH STEPS
ALREADY CALLED FOR BY INVESTORS
Press Releases
Action Alerts
Asian investors have little
systematic understanding of the
toxic chemicals issue. This gap
in knowledge creates an
opportunity for those investors
capable of identifying previously
ignored drivers for sector
leadership and unanalyzed
sources of risk.
Association for Sustainable and
Responsible Investment in Asia
(ASRiA), Toxic Chemicals — Asian
Investors are At-Risk, 2007
Investors Led by Boston Common Asset Management Applaud International Energy
Agency’s Fracking Recommendations; Proposed Guidelines Similar to Those
Published by Investor Environmental Health Network and Interfaith Center on
Corporate Responsibility
BOSTON///May 29, 2012///After outlining their own recommendations seven months ago
for energy companies engaged in fracking, investors with about $1 trillion in assets under
management are seeing much they can support in the International Energy Agency’s “Golden
Rules for a Golden Age of Gas” report released today.
On May 16, 2012, Boston Common Asset Management (Boston Common), the Investor
Environmental Health Network (IEHN) and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility
(ICCR) announced that 55 major investment organizations and institutional investors with
nearly $1 trillion in assets under management had united in support of “best practices” for the
fracking of shale gas. The guidelines, “Extracting the Facts: An Investor Guide to Disclosing
Risks from Hydraulic Fracturing Operations,” are available online at
http://www.iehn.org/documents/frackguidance.pdf .
With the publication today of its “Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas” report – part of the
World Energy Outlook series – the International Energy Agency outlines a number of
recommendations in the same spirit as the IEHN/ICCR guidelines.
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Steven Heim, managing director and director of ESG Research and Shareholder Engagement,
Boston Common, said: “Investors require full disclosure in accordance with IEA’s
golden rules in order to make fully informed judgments about wise investments in
the energy sector that take full account of companies’ management of environmental
risks and social impacts.”
Richard Liroff, PhD., executive director, Investor Environmental Health Network, said: “The
substantial alignment between IEA’s recommendations and ‘Extracting the Facts’
means that ‘Extracting the Facts’ provides companies with a practical tool for
implementing the IEA recommendations.”
Sister Nora Nash, director of corporate social responsibility, Sisters of St. Francis of
Philadelphia, and member of the ICCR, said, “The IEA golden rules reinforce the core
messages of the investor guidelines we put forth in “Extracting the Facts” that
companies need to fully engage communities to secure their social license to
operate, and a critical element of such engagement is responding to community
concerns and reporting fully on operational practices.”
Investors embracing “Extracting the Facts” seek action from the industry due to increasing
level of uncertainty about fracking. Examples of the impacts include the following:
Spreading moratoria and bans compromise development prospects. Recent
restrictions on the industry include: moratoria in New York State and the Delaware River
Basin; a moratorium in the Province of Quebec, Canada; and outright bans in France and
Bulgaria. Shell has estimated that two-fifths of its New York State acreage could be offlimits due to pending rules on fracking in that state. Chevron’s exploration license in
Bulgaria has been cancelled.
Inconsistent practices making it impossible for investors to make informed
choices. While some companies have voluntarily increased disclosures, particularly around
chemicals used in fracking, there is no systematic reporting on risk management and
reduction steps, which means investors may lack information critical to fully evaluating
energy companies engaged in shale gas extraction.
Growing shareholder unrest. Investor concern is evident in high levels of shareholder
votes supporting requests for more fracking disclosure. In the 2010 and 2011 proxy
seasons, 21 shareholder resolutions at 16 companies received strong support, averaging 30
percent votes on six resolutions going to votes in 2010, and an average 40 percent votes on
five resolutions voted on in 2011. Most of the remaining resolutions were withdrawn in the
course of discussions with companies, which either took positive action or pledged that they
would do so in the near future.
http://iehn.org/news.press.pressreleaseIEA5-29-12.php[10-Jun-12 17:40:43]
news.press.pressreleaseIEA5-29-12.php
“Extracting the Facts” was inspired by energy companies’ requests, in dialogues with investors,
for enhanced guidance on disclosure of risk management practices. The guide is organized
around 12 core goals and supporting practices and indicators:
Manage risks transparently and at board level;
Reduce surface footprint;
Assure well integrity;
Reduce and disclose all toxic chemicals;
Protect water quality by rigorous monitoring;
Minimize fresh water use;
Prevent contamination from waste water;
Minimize and disclose air emissions;
Prevent contamination from solid waste and sludge residuals;
Assure best in class contractor performance;
Secure community consent; and
Disclose fines, penalties and litigation.
In alphabetical order, the full list of the 55 investors, investment management and institutional
investor firms supporting the “best practices” guidelines for fracking are as follows: Adrian
Dominican Sisters (USA); Adveq Real Assets, Adveq Management AG (Switzerland); APG All
Pensions Group (Netherlands); As You Sow (USA); Australian Council of Superannuation
Investors (Australia); Bon Secours Health System, Inc. (USA); Boston Common Asset
Management, LLC (USA); Calvert Investments, Inc. (USA); Catholic Health East (USA);
Catholic Health Partners (USA); Catholic Super (Australia); Ceres (USA); Christian Brothers
Investment Services, Inc. (USA); Christopher Reynolds Foundation (USA); Compton Foundation
(USA); Congregation Sisters of St. Agnes General Council (Fond du Lac, WI) (USA); Dexia
Asset Management (Belgium); Dignity Health (USA);Domini Social Investments LLC (USA);
Dominican Sisters of Hope (USA); Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose (USA); Ethos
(Switzerland); Everence Financial (USA); First Affirmative Financial Network (USA);
Governance for Owners (United Kingdom); Green Century Capital Management (USA); Local
Government Super (Australia); Maryknoll Sisters (USA); Mercy Investment Services (USA);
Miller/Howard Investments, Inc. (USA); NEI Investments (Canada); Northwest Coalition for
Responsible Investment (USA); Park Foundation (USA); Parnassus Investments (USA); Pax
World Funds (USA); Portfolio 21 Investments (USA); Qube Investment Management Inc.
(Canada); Regnan - Governance Research & Engagement Pty Ltd (Australia); Religious of the
Sacred Heart of Mary, Western American Province (USA); Rose Foundation for Communities
and the Environment (USA); Shareholder Association for Research and Education (SHARE)
(Canada); Sisters of Charity of Saint Elizabeth (USA); Sisters of St. Dominic, Congregation of
the Most Holy Name, San Rafael (USA); Sisters of St. Francis of Penance and Christian Charity,
St. Francis Province (USA); Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia (USA); Sisters of St. Joseph of
Orange (USA); Sisters of St. Louis, California Region (USA); Sisters of the Holy Family (USA);
Socially Responsible Investment Coalition (SRIC) (USA); Swift Foundation (USA); The
Sustainability Group at Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge Trust, LLC (USA); Trillium Asset
Management LLC (USA); Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk, U.S. Province (USA); Walden Asset
Management, a division of Boston Trust & Investment Management (USA); and Zevin Asset
Management (USA).
ABOUT THE GROUPS
Boston Common Asset Management is an investment manager and a leader in global
sustainability initiatives, specializing in long-only International equity, US equity, and US
balanced strategies. Boston Common seeks sustainable, long-term capital appreciation by
investing in diversified portfolios of what it believes are high-quality companies through
rigorous analysis of financial, and environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors. As
shareowners, Boston Common urges companies to improve transparency, accountability, and
attention to ESG issues. Boston Common is an independent, employee-owned firm and as of
March 31, 2012, managed over $1.6 billion, including subadvised assets.
The Investor Environmental Health Network is a collaborative partnership of investment
managers, advised by nongovernmental organizations, concerned about the financial and
public health risks associated with corporate toxic chemicals policies. IEHN, through dialogue
and shareholder resolutions, encourages companies to adopt policies to continually and
systematically reduce and eliminate the toxic chemicals in their products and activities
Currently celebrating its 40th year, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility is the pioneer
coalition of active shareholders who view the management of their investments as a catalyst
for change. Its 300 member organizations with over $100 billion in assets have an enduring
record of corporate engagement that has demonstrated influence on policies promoting justice
and sustainability in the world.
MEDIA CONTACT: Patrick Mitchell at (703) 276-3266 or [email protected].
EDITOR’S NOTE: A streaming audio replay of a related May 16, 2012 news event is be
available on the Web at http://www.bostoncommonasset.com/.
http://iehn.org/news.press.pressreleaseIEA5-29-12.php[10-Jun-12 17:40:43]
SWIP welcomes the IEA's new golden rules on responsible fracking
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SWIP welcomes the IEA's new golden rules on responsible fracking
29 May 2012
Shale gas is a game changer for the energy sector. It has the potential to improve energy security
and reduce energy costs in many parts of the world, and may also have climate change benefits by
displacing coal in power generation.
However, shale gas also gives rise to serious environmental and climate change concerns - SWIP
recently expressed concerns about the climate impacts of fugitive methane emissions* for example.
For shale gas to be sustainable it is vital that it is exploited in the context of effective environmental
regulations and an energy policy that aims to reduce carbon emissions in line with internationally
agreed objectives.
The International Energy Agency's 'Golden Rules' (www.worldenergyoutlook.org/goldenrules) provide
a useful summary of the environmental challenges associated with shale gas, and a roadmap for the
development of international regulation of this new energy source.
Dr Craig Mackenzie, Head of Sustainability at SWIP, said:
"Without effective regulation and an energy policy that aims to reduce carbon emissions, we fear
there will be growing opposition to shale gas from environmentalists and the wider public. As a major
shareholder in the oil and gas sector we see the IEA's new 'golden rules' as an excellent blueprint
for building public trust and confidence in this new energy resource."
- Ends Notes to Editors
*SWIP research note - Shale gas: the fugitive methane problem.
www.swip.com/media/events/sustainability
Scottish Widows Investment Partnership
SWIP’s ultimate parent is Lloyds Banking Group, one of the largest financial services groups in
the UK.
SWIP has a geographically diverse client base with alliances and clients in the UK, across
Europe, USA and Japan.
SWIP is one of the UK and Europe’s largest fund managers with £142bn funds under
management (Source: Internal, as at 31 March 2012).
SWIP has a broad client base, managing assets for pension funds, charities, local authorities, life
funds, unit trusts, OEICs, offshore funds and specialist funds across all major asset classes.
SWIP is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority and is entered on their
register under number 193707 (www.fsa.gov.uk).
Investment markets and conditions can change rapidly and as such the views expressed should
not be taken as statements of fact nor should reliance be placed on these views when making
investment decisions. Past performance is not a guide to the future.
http://www.swip.com/media/mediareleases/pages/2012-05-29.aspx[10-Jun-12 17:39:34]
Market views
Events
NEWS RELEASE
Global investors call for action on methane emissions from
shale gas and oil fracking
Representing trillions in assets, institutional investor groups urge industry to
implement best practice control technologies to reduce global emissions of methane,
a greenhouse gas twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide
London - June 14th 2012 - The European Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change
(“IIGCC”), the North American Investor Network on Climate Risk (“INCR”) and the
Australia/New Zealand Investor Group on Climate Change (“IGCC”) have today issued a joint
statement calling on companies and governments to take effective action to minimise
methane emissions from rapidly growing unconventional oil and gas production made
possible by hydraulic fracturing.
As shareholders in oil and gas companies, investors are concerned with the regulatory and
reputational risks associated with fugitive methane and the significant climate change
concerns methane emissions raise. Over twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide,
accounting for 14% of global greenhouse gas emissions, methane has the potential to
accelerate climate change significantly, thus heightening the long-term economic risk to the
financial performance of investor assets. From 2010 to 2020, oil and gas methane emissions
are projected to increase by 35%.
To enable investors to evaluate companies’ progress in tackling methane leakage, the three
investor groups, which represent over 200 members with total assets of over $20 trillion, have
announced that they are working with industry and experts, in coordination with the Carbon
Disclosure Project, to develop an investor framework for disclosure to evaluate company
progress on reducing methane emissions. Investors are calling for companies to disclose their
methane emissions and control plans under this framework and implement best practice
control technologies that have been proven to effectively eliminate most methane emissions.
Consultation on the draft disclosure framework is currently underway, with a final version due
for publication in October 2012.
The investor groups’ statement follows the publication of the International Energy Agency’s
“Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas” and arrives shortly before the start of Rio+20, the
United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, where fracking is amongst a host of
climate change issues world leaders, policy makers and other organisations are expected to
discuss. The statement supports the fracking risk disclosure guidelines recently issued by the
Investor Environmental Health Network that call for minimizing the air emissions from fracking
operations.
Stephanie Pfeifer, Executive Director of the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change,
said:
“Methane is more than twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas
and has much greater short-term warming potential. Concerned with the negative economic
impacts of methane leakage and its contribution to climate change, investors will be taking a
range of measures to promote methane emissions reductions. These include engaging
directly with companies to understand their approach to methane control, discussing effective
regulatory measures with policy makers and working with industry to develop a framework to
enable the monitoring of companies' progress on methane control. With the technology which
would substantially eliminate most methane emissions available, progress on this issue is
eminently achievable.”
Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres and director of the $10 trillion Investor Network on Climate
Risk (INCR), said:
“We cannot declare a ‘golden age of gas’ without taking serious action to curb fugitive
methane emissions. Natural gas can play an important role in the transition to a low-carbon
energy future, but it would be ill advised to ignore the real and growing emissions impacts of
unconventional natural gas and oil development made possible by hydrofracking. Industry
leaders have proven that methane emissions can be managed with technologies and
strategies available today. That is why investors will continue to work closely with the oil and
gas industry and regulators to limit risks, increase efficiency and mitigate environmental
impact by reducing emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas.”
Craig Mackenzie, Head of Sustainability, Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, said:
“Fugitive methane emissions weaken the climate benefits of switching from coal to gas in the
power sector. Eliminating most methane emissions is cheap. As a major shareholder in the oil
and gas sector, we think it is in the industry’s interests to take action now to minimise
methane emissions. This important global investor initiative aims to encourage all oil and gas
companies to achieve the methane control standards being set by the industry leaders.”
For further information please contact:
IIGCC
INCR
IGCC
Nathan Williams, Capital MSL
Brian Bowen
Nathan Fabian
+ 44 (0) 207 307 5343
+ 1 617 247 0700 ext.148
+ 61 2 9255 0291
[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]
NOTES TO EDITORS
Figures on methane emissions levels and projected increase drawn from the IPCC’s 4th
Assessment Report and the Global Methane Initiative mitigation opportunities factsheet
respectively.(http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data/publications_and_data_reports.shtml#
1; http://www.globalmethane.org/documents/analysis_fs_en.pdf)
About the Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC)
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) is a forum for collaboration on
climate change for European investors. The group’s objective is to catalyse greater
investment in a low carbon economy by bringing investors together to use their collective
influence with companies, policymakers and investors. The group currently has 78 members,
representing assets of around €7.5trillion.
In detail, the IIGCC’s objectives are to: 1. encourage a pro-active approach amongst asset
owners and asset managers on climate change; 2. improve company disclosure/performance
on climate change; 3. encourage public policy solutions that ensure a move to a low carbon
economy and which are consistent with long-term investment objectives.
For further information visit www.iigcc.org
About the Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR)
The Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR) supports 100 institutional investors with assets
exceeding $10 trillion in addressing the financial risks and investment opportunities
associated with climate change. INCR works with its members on climate-related investment
practices, corporate engagement, corporate disclosure and policy issues.
INCR is coordinated by Ceres, a US-based coalition of investors, environmental groups and
other public interest organizations working with companies to address sustainability
challenges including climate change and water scarcity.
Launched by 10 investors in 2003 at the first Investor Summit on Climate Risk hosted by
Ceres at the United Nations, INCR has grown to include leading North American institutional
investors. It works to shape responsible investment practices among state and city treasurers
and comptrollers, public and labour pension funds, foundations, other institutional investors
and a wide range of asset managers.
For further information visit www.incr.com
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and investment practices that address the risks and opportunities of climate change, for the
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


Raise awareness of the potential impacts, both positive and negative, resulting from
climate change to the investment industry, corporate, government and community
sectors;
Encourage best practices approaches to facilitate the inclusion of the impacts of
climate change in investment analysis by the investment industry; and
Provide information to assist the investment industry to understand and incorporate
climate change into the investment decision.
For further information visit www.igcc.org.au
IEAs Golden Age for Gas may scupper golden opportunity for the climate - WWF UK
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IEAs Golden Age for
Gas may scupper
golden opportunity for
the climate
29 May 2012
Responding to the publication today of a new report by the
International Energy Agency (IEA) on unconventional natural
gas [1], WWF said that last month Maria van der Hoeven,
Executive Director of the Agency, issued a stark warning that
"the world is on course for 6 degrees of warming by the end
of the century".
Van der Hoeven highlighted our addiction to fossil fuels and said that now is
a 'golden opportunity' to act on climate change. However, today the IEA
released a report referring not to this 'golden opportunity' but to 'Golden
Rules for a Golden Age of Gas'
Nevertheless, the report explicitly points out that "natural gas cannot on its
own provide the answer to the challenge of climate change". Responding,
Keith Allott head of Climate Change at WWF-UK said “A golden
age for gas is clearly very far from a golden age for the planet. Buried in the
depths of this report is the bombshell that a global dash for unconventional
gas will condemn us to warming of at least 3.5°C.
“Those who claim that shale gas is some sort of wonder fuel that can that
tackle climate change are seriously misleading the public – the reality is that
it is a dangerous distraction from energy efficiency and clean renewable
energy.
"In a country like the UK it is important to recognise that there is not even a
short term benefit to the availability of shale gas. Dirty coal was on its way
out before shale gas turned up and the prospect of a dash for gas now
appears to be the biggest threat to meeting UK carbon targets."
The IEA's report contains two scenarios entitled the 'Golden Rules Case' and
'Low Unconventional Gas'. In both scenarios the projection for long-term
increase in the global mean temperature is significantly above 2°C. Whilst
emissions are very slightly lower in the IEA's Golden Rules Case', the IEA
point out that any gains from replacement of coal with gas are counteracted
by higher demand and less investment in low carbon fuels:
"At the global level, there are two major effects of the Golden Rules Case on
CO2 emissions, which counteract one another. Lower natural gas prices
mean that, in some instances, gas displaces the use of more carbonintensive fuels, oil and coal, pushing down emissions. At the same time,
http://www.wwf.org.uk/what_we_do/press_centre/?unewsid=6004[10-Jun-12 17:55:38]
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IEAs Golden Age for Gas may scupper golden opportunity for the climate - WWF UK
lower natural gas prices lead to slightly higher overall consumption of energy
and, in some instances, to displacement of lower-carbon fuels, such as
renewable energy sources and nuclear power. Overall, the projections in the
Golden Rules Case involve only a small net shift in anticipated levels of
greenhouse-gas emissions".
ENDS
1. IEA sets out the “Golden Rules” needed to usher in a Golden Age of Gas
(29.05.12):
http://www.iea.org/newsroomandevents/pressreleases/2012/may/name,27266,en.html
For more information:
George Smeeton, Senior Press Officer WWF-UK
Tel: 01483 412 388, Mob: 07917 052 948, email: [email protected]
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Friends of the Earth - A Golden Age - but who for?
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Policy & Politics Blog
31 May 2012
A Golden Age - but who for?
Sometimes you just know that a report isn't going to live up to the hype that precedes it. That was the case with this week's 'Golden Rules for a Golden Age of
Gas' report from the International Energy Agency (IEA)
It was billed to provide "the Golden Rules necessary to realise the economic and energy security benefits while meeting public concerns", but some of the rules
turned out to be pretty basic. 'Minimise air pollution', 'store and dispose of waste water safely' and 'take action to prevent and contain surface spills and leaks from
wells' - it's hardly rocket science.
I was pleased to see the mandatory disclosure of chemicals used for fracking and support for robust rules on well design - though again there was no indication of
what exact standards should apply.
But the elephant in the room is the impact on the climate.
The last point in the report's Executive Summary says that with the IEA's Golden Rules applied, using shale and other unconventional gas globally rather than coal
could lower carbon emissions by 1.3%. That all sounds great doesn't it? More shale gas will mean less CO2 - hurrah!
Unfortunately, for everyone on the planet apart from the gas industry, that's not the entire picture.
The truth is buried deep in the report (page 91 if you're interested). We'll still be using a lot more gas which will increase CO2 emissions and add to global warming.
The Golden Age of Gas will set us on course for a global temperature rise of 3.5 degrees - enough to cause catastrophic climate change.
And there's good scientific evidence that shale gas is as bad as coal for the climate, with more methane emissions wiping out any benefit from any lower
carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon Capture & Storage could help, but not until 2035 according to the IEA. But by then it will probably be too late as the carbon we have already emitted will have
pushed up global temperatures significantly.
The UK and other developed countries have said that global temperatures should rise by no more than two degrees above pre-industrial levels if we want to avoid the
worst impacts of climate change. Since that target was set in the mid-1990s, scientific understanding has moved on and it now looks like the maximum allowed
temperature rise to avoid the worst impacts should be 1.5 degrees.
The IEA's vision of the future might be a Golden Age for the energy companies, but it will be anything but that for much of the world. And they've admitted as
much: "we are not saying that it will be a golden age for humanity - we are saying it will be a golden age for gas".
Climate change is already leaving millions hungry, destroying wildlife and costing the global economy billions. More unconventional gas will just make that worse.
More than anything else, the IEA's new report underlines the need for a rapid shift away from dirty fossil fuels, including shale gas, to renewable energy across the
globe.
With clean energy resources like ours, Britain should lead the charge. That's why Friends of the Earth's clean British Energy campaign would have David
Cameron force energy companies to get off gas and develop clean British energy from our wind, sun and water.
Posted by Tony Bosworth | 31 May 2012 | Climate Change, Energy, 2012
http://www.foe.co.uk/blog/golden_age_of_gas_35985.html[10-Jun-12 18:10:37]
Shale gas: Fracking great | The Economist
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Shale gas
Fracking great
The promised gas revolution can do the environment more good than harm
Jun 2nd 2012 | from the print edition
THE story of America’s shale-gas
revolution offers hope in hard
times. The ground was laid in the
late 1990s, when a now-fabled
Texan oilman, George Mitchell,
developed an affordable way to
extract natural gas locked up in
shale rock and other geological
formations. It involves blasting
them with water, sand and
chemicals—a technique known as
hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”.
America’s shale-gas industry has
since drilled 20,000 wells, created hundreds of thousands of jobs, directly and indirectly, and
provided lots of cheap gas. This is a huge advantage to American industry and a relief to those
who fret about American energy security.
The revolution should continue, according to a report published this week by the International
Energy Agency (IEA). At current production rates, America has over a century’s supply of gas,
half of it stored in shale and other “unconventional” formations. It should also spread, to China,
Australia, Argentina and Europe. Global gas production could increase by 50% between 2010 and
2035, with unconventional sources supplying two-thirds of the growth (see article
(http://www.economist.com/node/21556242) ).
A number of things could prevent this, however. Many of the factors behind America’s gas boom,
including liberal regulation of pipelines (which encouraged wildcat exploration by small producers),
a well-aimed subsidy and abundant drill-rigs, do not exist elsewhere. Its sheer rapidity is
therefore unlikely to be matched. A greater threat stems from environmental protests, especially
in some European countries, which could kill the shale-gas industry at birth. France and Bulgaria
have banned fracking. Greens in America and Australia (see article
http://www.economist.com/node/21556249/print[10-Jun-12 17:34:15]
Shale gas: Fracking great | The Economist
(http://www.economist.com/node/21556291) ) are also rallying against the industry.
The anti-frackers have reasonable grounds for worry. Producing shale gas uses lots of energy and
water, and can cause pollution in several ways. One concern is possible contamination of aquifers
by methane, fracking fluids or the radioactive gunk they dislodge. This is not known to have
happened; but it probably has, where well-shafts passing through aquifers have been poorly
sealed.
Another worry is that fracking fluids regurgitated up well-shafts might percolate into groundwater.
A graver fear is that large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse-gas, could be emitted
during the entire process of exploration and production. Some also fret that fracking might induce
earthquakes—especially after it was linked to 50 tiny tremors in northern England last year.
But the risks from shale gas can be managed. Properly concreted well-shafts do not leak;
regurgitants can be collected and made safe; preventing gas venting and flaring would limit
methane emissions to acceptable levels; and the risk of tremors, which commonly occur as a
result of conventional oil-and-gas activities, can be contained by careful monitoring. The IEA
estimates that such measures would add 7% to the cost of the average shale-gas well. That is a
small price to pay for environmental protection and the health of a promising industry.
For as well as posing environmental risks, a gas boom would bring an important environmental
benefit. Burning gas emits half as much carbon dioxide as coal; so where gas substitutes for coal,
emissions will fall. America’s emissions have fallen by 450m tonnes in the past five years, more
than any other country’s. Ironically, given its far greater effort to tackle climate change, the
European Union has seen its emissions rise, partly because of an increase in coal-fired power
generation in response to Europe’s high gas price.
Cleaner, but not clean enough
By itself, switching to gas will not reduce emissions to anything like the levels required to avoid a
high risk of serious climate change. This will take much crunchier policies to boost renewableenergy sources and other clean technologies—starting with a strong price on carbon emissions,
through a market-based mechanism or, preferably, a carbon tax. Governments are
understandably unwilling to take these steps in straitened times. Yet they should plan to do so;
and in the coming years cheap gas could help free cash for more investment in low-carbon
technologies. Otherwise the bonanza would be squandered.
from the print edition | Leaders
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http://www.economist.com/node/21556249/print[10-Jun-12 17:34:15]
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Natural gas: Shale of the century | The Economist
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Natural gas
Shale of the century
The “golden age of gas” could be cleaner than greens think
Jun 2nd 2012 | from the print edition
AMERICA’S “unconventional” gas
boom continues to amaze. Between
2005 and 2010 the country’s shalegas industry, which produces
natural gas from shale rock by
bombarding it with water and
chemicals—a technique known as
hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”—
grew by 45% a year. As a
proportion of America’s overall gas
production shale gas has increased
from 4% in 2005 to 24% today.
America produces more gas than it
knows what to do with. Its storage facilities are rapidly filling, and its gas price (prices for gas,
unlike oil, are set regionally) has collapsed. Last month it dipped below $2 per million British
thermal units (mBtu): less than a sixth of the pre-boom price and too low for producers to break
even.
Those are problems most European and Asian countries, which respectively pay roughly four and
six times more for their gas, would relish. America’s gas boom confers a huge economic
advantage. It has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, directly and indirectly. And it has
rejuvenated several industries, including petrochemicals, where ethane produced from natural gas
is a feedstock.
The gas price is likely to rise in the next few years, because of
increasing demand. Peter Voser, the boss of Royal Dutch Shell, an
oil firm with big shale-gas investments, expects it to double by
2015. Yet it will remain below European and Asian prices, so the
industry should still grow. America is estimated to have enough
gas to sustain its current production rate for over a century.
http://www.economist.com/node/21556242/print[10-Jun-12 17:33:46]
Natural gas: Shale of the century | The Economist
This is astonishing. Barely five years ago America was expected to
be a big gas importer. Between 2000 and 2010 it built
infrastructure to regasify over 100 billion cubic metres (bcm) of
imported liquefied natural gas (LNG). Yet in 2011 American LNG
imports were less than 20 bcm. Efforts are now under way to
convert idle regasification terminals into liquefaction facilities, in order to export LNG. Plans for a
terminal in Sabine Pass, Louisiana, are expected to be approved in June.
The shock waves of America’s gas boom are being felt elsewhere. Development of Russia’s vast
Shtokman gasfield, in the Barents Sea—a $40 billion project which was intended to supply
America with LNG—has stalled. Qatari LNG, once earmarked for America, is going to energystarved Japan. Yet a bigger change is expected, with large-scale shale-gas production possible in
China, Australia, Argentina and several European countries, including Poland and Ukraine.
Last year the International Energy Agency released a boosterish report entitled “Are we entering a
golden age of gas?” On May 29th it released a follow-up, from which it dropped the questionmark. It foresees a tripling in the supply of unconventional gas between 2010 and 2035, leading
to a slower price rise than would otherwise be expected. It expects this to boost global demand
by more than 50%.
Free to frack in America
Not everyone is so bullish. America’s shale-gas boom was fuelled by a coincidence of factors:
“open access” pipeline regulation, which inspired wildcat exploration; abundant drill-rigs and other
infrastructure; and strong property rights, whereby landowners own the rights to minerals beneath
their holdings. Few of these conditions exist elsewhere.
Europe has a good pipeline network, which in theory is open to all. Yet the pipes get tied up years
in advance. European landowners typically do not own the minerals under their land, so they have
little incentive to encourage exploration. Also, Europe is crowded, so its NIMBYs are noisy.
China has a different sort of problem: a shortage of water, of which millions of gallons can be
required to frack a single well. The Argentine government’s recent decision to grab control of the
country’s largest oil firm, YPF, will scare off the foreign investment its shale industry needs.
Such hurdles will make the pace, and perhaps scale, of America’s boom hard to equal. And even a
big increase in supply might not bring down the European gas price much. Unlike the price in
America, it is tied to the oil price, thanks to long-term Russian and Norwegian export contracts.
Shale-gas producers also face opposition from greens, who object to the industry’s heavy water
usage and a small risk that fracking could lead to contamination of aquifers and even to
earthquakes. There is also a risk that large amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas,
could escape during shale-gas exploration and production. The IEA estimates that shale-gas
http://www.economist.com/node/21556242/print[10-Jun-12 17:33:46]
Natural gas: Shale of the century | The Economist
production emits 3.5% more than conventional gas, and 12% when it involves venting excess gas.
France and Bulgaria have banned fracking; American and Australian anti-frackers are also rallying.
The greens have a case, but they exaggerate it. So long as well-shafts are properly sealed, there
is hardly any risk that fracking will poison groundwater. By eliminating venting, methane
emissions can be kept to an acceptable minimum. And the risk of earthquakes, which has long
been present in conventional oil-and-gas extraction, is modest and mitigated by monitoring. The
IEA says such precautions would add 7% to the cost of a shale-gas well—a small price for a
healthy industry.
But they would not address the big problem with shale gas and all fossil fuels: the global warming
they cause. Without a serious effort to boost renewable energy and other low-carbon
technologies, the IEA envisages warming of over 3.5°C. That could be unaffordable.
from the print edition | Business
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Natural Gas, by the Book - NYTimes.com
June 9, 2012
Natural Gas, by the Book
Reports from international agencies usually make for dull reading. “Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas,”
from the Paris-based International Energy Agency, does not. It should be required reading for regulators
and the industry — and for anyone who cares about energy, the environment and climate change.
The report examines the perils and promise of the global natural gas boom brought about by a controversial
drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. While some environmentalists are determined to shut
hydrofracturing down, the report says that shale gas can be safely extracted, and at relatively low cost, and
is preferable to coal in terms of emissions that contribute to global warming. But the report also makes
clear that regulators and the industry will have to be much more aggressive in protecting the water and the
air from pollutants released by the process.
For the Obama administration, and regulators in the 14 states where natural gas is booming, this means
imposing tough new rules on every stage: making sure that industry constructs leakproof wells that do not
pollute the water table, and safely recycling or storing the millions of gallons of contaminated water
produced by every well. Regulators must also require industry to keep methane, a powerful greenhouse gas,
from leaking into the atmosphere from wellheads or pipelines.
For their part, the oil and gas companies — both the ExxonMobils and the mom-and-pops that abound in
hydrofracturing — need to drop their warfare against necessary regulations.
Switching to natural gas is not going to solve climate change. But a gas-fired power plant emits only half as
much carbon dioxide as a coal-fired plant, and this is no time to squander any advantage. Two weeks ago,
the International Energy Agency announced that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide in 2011
were 3.2 percent higher than the year before, and are now at record levels.
Would protecting the water and the air bankrupt the industry? No. The report estimates that operating
with a near-zero-impact environmental footprint would add about 7 percent, or $600,000, to the typical
$8 million cost of a well in, say, Texas or North Dakota. That is affordable for a well that could produce
millions of dollars in revenue over its lifetime.
The Obama administration has taken two modest steps this year. The Environmental Protection Agency
will require drillers to reduce ground-level air pollutants and capture methane in storage trucks for later
resale. But the rules apply only to new wells. The Interior Department has proposed stricter standards for
wastewater storage that apply only to the public lands it controls.
Stronger federal rules are plainly needed. Concern for the planet is unlikely to persuade industry to drop its
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/10/opinion/sunday/natural-gas-by-the-book.html?_r=2&ref=todayspaper&pagewanted=print[10-Jun-12 17:30:29]
IEA warns on shale gas rules - FT.com
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IEA warns on shale gas rules
By Pilita Clark, Environment Correspondent
The shale gas revolution risks being limited or even halted unless the industry
agrees to tougher environmental rules and becomes much more transparent
about its operations, the International Energy Agency warns on Tuesday.
Companies videos
Adopting more stringent standards for the contentious practice of hydraulic
fracturing, or fracking, which is used to extract shale gas, could increase the
cost of a typical well by about 7 per cent, the Paris-based agency says in a new
report.
More
ON THIS STORY
Shale gas boom helps slash US
emissions
View from the US Familiar echoes
in shale gas boom
Shale gas Terminal decline no
longer
Shale gas seen as unlikely bet for
Russia
Markets Insight The coming US
boom and how shale gas will fuel
it
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Markets Insight Dollar will win
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China tries to copy US success in
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FT series Fightback against the
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IN OIL & GAS
Inpex transformation takes urgent
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BP seeks $15bn spill settlement
However, “this would still leave handsome profits
for the companies”, the IEA’s chief economist,
Fatih Birol, told the Financial Times – adding
that if companies ignored the “legitimate
concerns” over fracking’s impact, it could damage
the entire industry.
A surge in the production of shale gas and other
unconventional resources has transformed the
US energy landscape in recent years, driving gas
prices down to 10-year lows and fuelling an
industrial renaissance. But a backlash against the
impact of fracking has made its progress beyond
the US more troubled, with some countries such
as France and Bulgaria banning the procedure
outright and others eyeing it warily.
Fracking involves pumping huge volumes of
water mixed with chemicals deep underground
and much of the opposition to it centres on fears
of water contamination and depletion. There is
also concern about the amount of leaked
emissions of methane, a highly potent
greenhouse gas, which some say undermines
natural gas’s claims to be a greener fuel than coal,
a prime source of climate-warming emissions.
The IEA, the energy watchdog for western
countries, released an influential report last year,
“Are We Entering a Golden Age of Gas?”,
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e602c880-a8e2-11e1-be59-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1xPMD6Xf5[10-Jun-12 18:20:42]
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IEA warns on shale gas rules - FT.com
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3. Hackers escalate attacks on social networks
In Tuesday’s report, the agency lists seven “golden rules” it has drawn up with
government and industry officials to address community and environmental
concerns, which it says “threaten to curb, if not halt, the development of
unconventional resources”.
4. The banks that are too complex to exist
5. London house prices diverge sharply
The rules include:
* Measuring water quality before and after wells are fractured, a move that
would help resolve disputes over whether gas found in drinking wells near
fracking operations occurred naturally or not.
* Mandatory disclosure of the volume and type of chemical additives used in
fracking fluids, a measure some companies have resisted.
* Robust surveying of the geology of proposed fracking areas to limit the
possibility of earthquakes such as those triggered by a UK fracking operation
last year.
Latest headlines from CNBC
* Measures to reduce leaked emissions.
Markets Get a 'Spailout'? It's No Bailout for Spain
* Consideration of depth limits to boost public confidence that fracking is only
taking place far from water tables, and “robust rules” on well design and
construction.
Does Europe Finally Understand Market Expectations?
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Nick Grealy, a UK shale gas lobbyist, said he thought most companies would
welcome the IEA’s suggestions. “If they reassure people shale gas can be safe
then it’s a worthwhile investment,” he said.
Mr Birol acknowledged if it was possible some shale gas operators might claim
the costs of implementing such comprehensive measures could make it
impossible for them to continue.
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“I think they should look for other opportunities because these rules have to be
observed,” he said. “If these challenges are not properly addressed, it could be
a major difficulty to see a major boom in shale gas.”
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If the “golden rules” were implemented in the many countries with substantial
reserves of shale gas and other unconventional resources such as coalbed
methane, the IEA still forecasts a big jump in global gas use.
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The share of gas in the global energy mix could reach 25 per cent in 2035, it
says, overtaking coal to become the second largest primary energy source after
oil.
But even though natural gas is much cleaner than coal, the IEA continues to
warn that greater reliance on gas alone “cannot realise the international goal of
limiting the long-term increase in the global mean temperature to 2 degrees
Celsius above pre-industrial levels”.
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http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/e602c880-a8e2-11e1-be59-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1xPMD6Xf5[10-Jun-12 18:20:42]
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Shale Gas Could Fracture Energy Market - The Source - WSJ
May 29, 2012, 1:34 PM GMT
Shale Gas Could Fracture Energy Market
Significant growth in the development of shale gas
resources could shift the balance of power in the
global energy market, reducing the fuel import bills
of places like Europe and weakening powerful
exporters like Russia and Qatar, the International
Energy Agency said Tuesday.
Now, this would be a boon for energy intensive
manufacturers in Europe–particularly
petrochemical producers–and also for utilities
currently suffering at the hands of the gas pricing
power enjoyed by Russia.
Reuters
“It is not an exaggeration to say that
unconventional gas would fracture the status quo of the energy system and lead to a major geographic shift in the
sources of energy,” said the IEA’s Chief Economist, Fatih Birol, at a briefing in London.
However, if the nascent global shale gas industry does not do more to address environmental concerns about its
activities, public opposition could stop it in its tracks, the IEA warned. In this case, the power of the dominant
exporters would only grow.
If the world embraces a technology called hydraulic fracturing to release huge resources of natural gas trapped in
shale rock formations, natural gas could become the fastest growing energy source out to 2035, the IEA said in a
report Tuesday. Supply could grow by 55% over that period, with much of the new gas output coming from
countries that are not currently exporters of the fuel.
“Importers will benefit in two ways,” said Mr. Birol. First, prices will be lower with shale gas than without. In
Europe, natural gas prices will be 9% lower in 2020 and 18% lower in 2035 than they would otherwise have been
without shale gas, the IEA said.
The benefits of such a change are already being felt in the U.S., where a boom in shale gas production has
pushed the natural gas price to 10-year lows.
“This is a major factor in the beginnings of a resurgence in domestic manufacturing,” said Bob McCutcheon, U.S.
industrial products leader at consultancy PricewaterhouseCoopers. Producers of chemicals and metals are seeing
particular benefits, he said.
http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2012/05/29/shale-gas-could-fracture-energy-market/tab/print/[10-Jun-12 18:19:03]
Shale Gas Could Fracture Energy Market - The Source - WSJ
Mr. Birol said the second big benefit is that countries will import less gas because they are producing more at
home, dramatically improving their balance of payments.
The IEA forecasts that in 2035, the EU’s annual natural gas import bill will be around $65 billion lower if there is a
boom in shale gas production, compared with the current status quo. China’s saving on imports would be $90
billion and the U.S. and Canada would gain $35 billion by switching from being an importer to an exporter, it
estimated.
Lower imports will come largely at the expense of the current established gas exporters. By 2035, gas exports
from Russia and the Middle East will both be around a third lower than they would otherwise have been, the IEA
estimated.
This reduction in market share would weaken these countries’ ability to fix the price of their gas to a price formula
related to the cost of oil, Mr. Birol said. This could be to the advantage of European utilities like Germany’s RWE
AG or E.ON AG, who have recently suffered big losses because they have been forced to buy gas from Russia at
much higher prices than it is available elsewhere.
However, if the shale gas industry fails to get off the ground due to growing public opposition, the dominance of
existing exporters would only grow, to the detriment of consumers. “The share of Russia and the Middle East…
would be approaching 50% of international trade,” said Mr. Birol.
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http://blogs.wsj.com/source/2012/05/29/shale-gas-could-fracture-energy-market/tab/print/[10-Jun-12 18:19:03]
IEA’s golden rule: Shale gas companies need license to drill
Published on EurActiv (http://www.euractiv.com)
Source URL: http://www.euractiv.com/energy/iea-golden-rule-shale-gas-compan-news-513041
IEA’s golden rule: Shale gas companies
need license to drill
Published: 30 May 2012 | Updated: 31 May 2012
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has unveiled a ‘golden’ rulebook for the extraction of
unconventional gases such as shale, which it says is needed to give them a 'social license to operate'.
Background
Shale gas is an 'unconventional' fossil fuel that is found within natural fissures and fractures underground.
Until recently, no method of safely transporting it to the surface existed.
However, by pumping water, sand and chemicals into rock formations under high pressure via a technique
known as hydraulic fracturing or 'fracking', energy companies believe they have found a part of the answer
to Europe's energy security problems.
The method remains intensely controversial because of its possible environmental risks, including
poisoning groundwater and higher greenhouse gas emissions than traditional gas.
To proponents, shale gas represents a hitherto untapped and welcome alternative energy source to
traditional fossil fuels. At the moment the continent depends on gas imported from Russia, and disputes
between that country and Ukraine have disrupted winter supplies in recent years.
In the US, shale gas already accounts for 16% of the world's largest economy natural gas production and
some analysts predict that could rise to 50% within 20 years.
The checklist includes more regulation, transparency, investment, environmental protection, and a switch
to best practices.
“If this new industry is to prosper, it needs to earn and maintain its social license to operate,” said the IEA
chief economist Fatih Birol, the report’s chief author. “This comes with a financial cost, but in our estimation
the additional costs are likely to be limited.”
According to the IEA’s long-awaited report - ‘Golden rules for the Golden Age of Gas’ - applying their
rulebook “could increase the overall financial cost of development [for] a typical shale-gas well by an
estimated 7%.”
But Antoine Simon, an extractive industries campaigner for Friends of the Earth, an environmental group,
was sceptical that such funding would arrive in time to meet Europe’s climate objectives.
“It will take a long time and an enormous amount of investment that would consequently not be put into
renewables and energy efficiency that could reduce emissions now,” he told EurActiv.
There was “nothing new” in the report’s executive summary, and the IEA appeared to be retreating from
http://www.euractiv.com/print/energy/iea-golden-rule-shale-gas-compan-news-513041[10-Jun-12 17:57:23]
IEA’s golden rule: Shale gas companies need license to drill
previous positions favouring renewables, Simon argued.
“We find it quite worrying,” he said.
A clean energy?
Shale gas has been hailed as a ‘clean’ energy but a separate report last week by the Scottish Widows
Investment Partnership found that current extraction techniques provide no greenhouse gas emissions
savings at all.
This is because the process of hydraulic fracturing – or ‘fracking’ – which explodes dense clusters of rocks
underground to obtain gas, also releases large amounts of methane into the atmosphere.
Fracking has also sparked angry protests over fears of earthquakes, freshwater poisoning and other public
health hazards, leading to bans on the practice in Bulgaria and France.
Underlining public concerns is the problem that scientists say methane is between 20%-100% more potent
than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas in the short-term.
One study by Cornell University last year found that as a result, shale’s climate impact was “worse than
coal”.
However, if companies used a technology known as “green completion” to capture the “fugitive” methane
leaks that fracking causes, the climate impact of shale could be minimised, according to the Scottish
Widows report.
‘Golden age of Gas’
The IEA predicts that because of greater availability and climate concerns, the share of gas in the global
energy mix will triple by 2035 to 1.6 trillion litres, or 25% of the global energy mix – a higher percentage
than coal and second only to oil.
Unconventional gas will make up 32% of that figure, the IEA report says, fuelling a ‘golden age’ for gas that
will, for example, enable the US to become self-sufficient in energy by 2030.
Poland too is planning a strategic move towards shale gas production beginning in 2014.
But the EU’s chief climate negotiator Artur Runge-Metzger has publicly questioned whether such heavy
reliance on fossil fuels would allow the decarbonication by 2050 that scientists say is needed to limit global
warming to two degrees Celsius.
‘Shale gas revolution’
To prevent the ‘shale gas revolution’ from sparking an atmospheric methane overdose – and public
protests – the IEA recommends substantial operating changes by the industry.
Drilling sites should be chosen to minimise social and environmental impacts, they say, and environmental
monitoring should be more extensively conducted and communicated to the public, at all stages of the
drilling process.
A general performance standard for wells should be introduced involving robust rules on well design,
construction, cementing and integrity that isolate gas bearing formations from other strata, particularly
freshwater aquifers.
http://www.euractiv.com/print/energy/iea-golden-rule-shale-gas-compan-news-513041[10-Jun-12 17:57:23]
IEA’s golden rule: Shale gas companies need license to drill
Minimum-depth limitations should be imposed on fracking, while earthquake risks should be carefully
addressed through geological surveys and site choices, the IEA says.
Environmental concerns about the pollution of underground freshwater sources with industrial chemicals
should also be taken more seriously.
Freshwater use should be reduced, chemical additives minimised, emergency response plans
strengthened, and flaring of natural gas cut back massively, it adds.
No panaceas
But even with adoption of all these caveats, shale gas use cannot be a panacea, the IEA report warns.
“Greater reliance on natural gas alone cannot realise the international goal of limiting the long-term
increase in the global mean temperature to two degrees Celsius,” it says.
As well as unconventional gas, energy efficiency, low carbon energy sources and technologies such as
carbon capture and storage will all be needed, the report says.
Positions
Reacting to the report, Greenpeace International's Chief Scientist Paul Johnston said:
“Greenpeace opposes the exploitation of unconventional gas reserves because the impacts have not been
fully investigated, understood, addressed and regulated. The impacts include high rates of methane
leakage, severe water pollution and very high water consumption. The IEA report essentially affirms that
these concerns are real but falls short of actually addressing them.”
Next Steps
30 May 2012: IEA launches 'Golden Rules for the Golden Age of Gas' report in the European
Parliament (9.30am, room P7C050).
In attendance at the report's launch will be Fatih Birol, the IEA's chief economist, Boguslaw Sonik,
Polish MEP, and Marie-Pierre Fauconnier, the director-general for energy in Belgium's federal
ministry for energy. The launch event will take place under the patronage of Amalia Sartori MEP,
who chairs the Parliament's Industry, Research and Energy Committee (ITRE).
Links
EU official documents
Roasdmap 2050: A practical guide to a prosperous, low carbon Europe
Press articles
EurActiv Czech Republic: Stop břidlicovému plynu? ČR možná zakáže frakování
International Organisations
International Energy Agency Report: Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas
http://www.euractiv.com/print/energy/iea-golden-rule-shale-gas-compan-news-513041[10-Jun-12 17:57:23]
Business & Financial News, Breaking US & International News | Reuters.com
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World to gain from gas glut if regulation right
Tue, May 29 2012
By Henning Gloystein and Oleg Vukmanovic
LONDON/OSLO (Reuters) - A boom in unconventional natural gas over the next 20 years could see the United States
and others benefit from cheaper energy while the importance of the Middle East declines, the International Energy
Agency (IEA) said on Tuesday.
Growth in shale and other newly available forms of natural gas in the United States and China could match gains
made in conventional gas in Russia, the Middle East and North Africa combined, IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol told
Reuters in an interview.
"Unconventional gas will fracture the status quo, and will be a complete game changer with major geopolitical
implications," Birol said.
High natural gas prices over the past years have helped spur investment in previously unavailable, unconventional
gas reserves that include so-called tight-gas, shale gas, and coalbed methane resources.
Yet a boom in these resources can only happen if measures are taken to ensure these reserves are extracted in a
socially and environmentally satisfactory way, the IEA said in a report presented in London on Tuesday.
Environmental group Greenpeace said in reaction to the report that it opposed the exploration of unconventional gas.
"Greenpeace opposes the exploitation of unconventional gas reserves because the impacts have not been fully
investigated, understood, addressed and regulated," it said. "The IEA report essentially affirms that these concerns are
real but falls short of actually addressing them."
The IEA report underscored the economic gains offered by the rapid growth in unconventional gas, with "countries that
were net importers of gas in 2010, including the United States, gaining the wider economic benefits associated with
improved energy trade balances and lower energy prices."
Australia, India, Canada and Indonesia are also set for big increases in unconventional gas production, it said.
"The share of Russia and countries in the Middle East in international gas trade declines from around 45 percent in
2010 to 35 percent in 2035," the report said.
For Europe, where shale gas production is expected to play a smaller role than elsewhere, Birol said that
unconventional gas growth could still be enough to offset an ongoing decline in conventional gas output.
"The main benefit for Europe will that there will be lower gas import prices, putting pressure on oil-indexation of
traditional gas supply contracts," Birol said.
Europe's main gas suppliers, Russia and Norway, sell their gas under long-term contracts that are linked to the oil
market.
Because oil prices have remained firm on strong demand from emerging economies while European gas prices have
fallen on weak domestic demand, European gas suppliers are forced to sell imported gas to their customers at a loss,
and utilities lose money when generating electricity from imported gas.
The IEA said this price structure could change as a result of a global unconventional gas glut.
The report said that natural gas could become the world's second most important energy source after oil within the
next two decades, should the right rules be introduced to ensure safe and environmentally sustainable use of
unconventional gas resources.
Global gas demand could rise by over 50 percent between 2010 and 2035 and reach 25 percent of the world's energy
mix, overtaking coal to become the second largest primary energy source after oil, the IEA said.
Growth in the gas sector would equal the combined growth in the coal, oil and nuclear sectors and outstrip expansion
in the renewable energy sector, the IEA said.
"Production of unconventional gas, primarily shale gas, more than triples to 1.6 trillion cubic feet in 2035," the IEA said.
"The share of unconventional gas in total gas output rises from 14 percent today to 32 percent in 2035."
It noted the majority of the gas production increases would come after 2020 as producers needed time to develop a
commercial unconventional gas sector.
COSTLY REGULATION NEEDED
The IEA said the rules needed to ensure unconventional gas production is both environmentally and socially
acceptable would raise production costs.
"I hope that the industry will recognize that it will be tested against the worst practices in the sector," Birol said.
The report said such measures "could increase the overall financial cost of developing a typical shale gas well by an
estimated 7 percent."
Yet should the industry fail to implement strict enough rules, the IEA said a lack of public acceptance would likely
mean that only a small share of unconventional gas resources would become available for development.
http://www.reuters.com/assets/print?aid=USBRE84S0LB20120529
10-Jun-12
Natural Gas Golden Age Is Threatened by Pollution, IEA Says - Bloomberg
Print Back to story
Natural Gas Golden Age Is Threatened by Pollution, IEA Says
By Matthew Brown - May 29, 2012
A tripling of natural-gas production from unconventional sources, such as shale formations, will only happen if environmental concerns are
addressed, according to the International Energy Agency.
Annual extraction from unconventional resources may rise to 1.6 trillion cubic meters in 2035 to account for 32 percent of all gas
production, up from 14 percent this year, the IEA said in an e-mailed report released today. That figure will only be reached if companies
and regulators are transparent, monitor environmental impacts and take the concerns of local communities seriously, according to the
report.
“The concerns of local communities are legitimate ones,” Fatih Birol, chief economist at the IEA in Paris, said in a telephone interview
yesterday. “There are some companies that are following the rules we are suggesting here. The destiny of the shale-gas industry will be
decided not by the best practices but by the worst practices.”
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the practice of pumping water, sand and chemicals into wells to extract gas from hard- to-exploit shale
rock, helped the U.S. overtake Russia as the world’s biggest producer of the fuel. The global potential of shale resources has been stymied
after France and Bulgaria banned the practice and activity was suspended in the U.K.
More than 20 towns in New York state have adopted laws to ban drilling, according to Karen Edelstein, a geographic information-systems
consultant in Ithaca, New York.
Greenpeace Opposition
Following best-practice guidelines as proposed by the IEA will add about 7 percent to production costs, the organization said in the report.
That will still leave “healthy revenues” for investors, Birol said.
Greenpeace said in an e-mailed statement today that the IEA’s report doesn’t sufficiently evaluate the climatic implications of its guidelines.
“It fails to provide hard rules to prevent methane leakage from unconventional gas production or hard evidence that leakage can be reduced
to acceptable levels,” Paul Johnston, the environmental group’s chief scientist, said in the statement. “Greenpeace opposes the exploitation
of unconventional gas reserves because the impacts have not been fully investigated, understood, addressed and regulated.”
Prices Unsustainable
Birol said in London today that U.S. gas prices aren’t sustainable and need to rise to about $4.50 per million British thermal units. Prices
have slumped as much as 62 percent in the past year as unconventional output rose. The June contract traded at $2.502 per million Btu
today after falling to a 10- year low of $1.902 on April 19.
Increased shale production will bring about a global golden age of gas, pushing down prices and increasing demand by more than 50 percent
from 2010 levels by 2035, when its share of the energy mix will have risen to 25 percent from less than 21 percent, the IEA said.
European gas usage will remain about the same and increased production from shale, led by Poland, will make up for a decline in
conventional sources in the North Sea and elsewhere in the continent after 2020, according to the report.
Prices will decline in Europe as existing suppliers, such as Russia and Norway, are forced to compete for market share, the IEA said.
“From the geopolitics point of view, the U.S., China and Australia emerging as major gas producers means more diversification, which is
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-05-29/natural-gas-golden-age-is-threatened-by-pollution-iea-says-1-.html[10-Jun-12 18:23:15]
Natural Gas Golden Age Is Threatened by Pollution, IEA Says - Bloomberg
good news for the energy security of Europe,” Birol said.
Technological Hurdles
In April 2011, the U.S. Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration said that China has 1,275 trillion cubic feet of recoverable
shale gas, almost 50 percent more than that held by the U.S., and that Poland has 187 trillion cubic feet. Since then, shale development in
China has been slower than predicted by the government.
The Polish Geological Institute said in March that reserves in the eastern European nation may be as much as 85 percent less than the EIA’s
estimates. The cost of drilling in Poland is three times that in the U.S., Schlumberger Ltd. (SLB) said in November.
Technological hurdles to the exploitation of shale gas outside of the U.S. will be overcome, Birol said yesterday.
“Hundreds of thousands of wells need to be drilled in Poland,” he said. “Poland needs to prepare the country from a regulatory point of view.
The main issue in China is water availability. These problems will be solved.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Matthew Brown in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Lars Paulsson at [email protected]
®2012 BLOOMBERG L.P. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/print/2012-05-29/natural-gas-golden-age-is-threatened-by-pollution-iea-says-1-.html[10-Jun-12 18:23:15]
IEA says global gas demand could rise more than 50% by 2035 - Natural Gas | Platts News Article & Story
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London (Platts)--29May2012/559 am EDT/959 GMT
World demand for natural gas could rise more than 50% by 2035, from 2010, the International Energy Agency
said Tuesday, but only if a significant portion of the vast global resources of shale gas, tight gas and coalbed
methane can be developed profitably and in an environmentally acceptable way.
The IEA said the surge in North American production of unconventional gas, thanks to technology advances,
held out the prospect of further output increases in the US and Canada and "the emergence of a large-scale
unconventional gas industry in other parts of the world, where sizeable resources are known to exist."
This would help bring about greater energy diversity and boost energy security and would also result in global
benefits in the form of reduced energy costs, the IEA said in a special report, Golden Rules for a Golden Age
of Gas.
Gas could take a 25% share of the global energy mix by 2035, overtaking coal to become the second largest
primary energy source after oil, in the IEA's most positive scenario for unconventional gas.
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Article continues below...
Platts 6th Annual European Gas Supply &
Infrastructure Conference:
Assuring Security of Supply, Sustainability &
Competition in Europe's Gas Markets
10-11 September 2012, Hilton Vienna Danube,
Vienna, Austria
Platts 6th Annual European Gas Supply & Infrastructure conference will bring
together leading experts, gas companies, TSOs, traders, pipeline operators and
developers to discuss key themes of critical importance to the European gas
industry.
The agency is advocating that policymakers and the industry adopt a set of "golden rules" which take into
account a range of social and environmental considerations.
"The golden rules underline that full transparency, measuring and monitoring of environmental impacts and
engagement with local communities are critical to addressing public concerns," it said.
The agency recommends careful choice of drilling sites, thorough well design and integrity testing, and
monitoring of waste water, among other measures.
In this "golden rules" scenario production of unconventional gas -- mainly shale -- more than triples to 1.6
trillion cubic meters in 2035, accounting for nearly two-thirds of incremental gas supply over the intervening
period.
The share of unconventional gas in current total gas output is 14% but this will rise to 32% in 2035, with most
of the increase coming after 2020, "reflecting the time needed for new producing countries to establish a
commercial industry," the agency said.
During the period to 2035, the US will overtake Russia as the world's biggest producer of natural gas, the IEA
http://www.platts.com/RSSFeedDetailedNews/RSSFeed/NaturalGas/8336408[10-Jun-12 18:23:49]
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IEA says global gas demand could rise more than 50% by 2035 - Natural Gas | Platts News Article & Story
said. China will also be among the top producers because its big unconventional resource base will allow very
rapid growth in unconventional production, starting around 2020.
The IEA also sees big increases in Australia, India, Canada and Indonesia, and forecasts that production of
unconventional gas in the European Union, led by Poland, will be sufficient after 2020 to offset continued
decline in conventional output.
The investment needed to develop these global resources of unconventional gas will be sizable, and
"constitutes 40% of the $6.9 trillion (in year-2010 dollars) required for cumulative upstream gas investment in
the golden rules case," the agency said.
THREAT TO GROWTH
But the IEA warned that if the industry is not careful to develop in an acceptable way, its growth could be
restricted. In the IEA's "low unconventional" case a lack of public acceptance means that unconventional gas
production rises only slightly above current levels by 2035.
Lower availability of gas in this scenario results in higher prices, and the share of gas in the global energy mix
increases only slightly, from 21% in 2010 to 22% in 2035, remaining behind coal, and behind the 25% of the
golden rules case.
This low unconventional scenario also sees different trade patterns, with North America "requiring significant
quantities of imported LNG." The IEA said it estimated that transparent, acceptable development of
unconventional gas would add only around 7% to the overall cost of a typical shale gas well, and possibly
less for a larger project with multiple wells.
That extra cost could be an affordable increase for developers to pay if it brings them a wider market overall.
Currently in the US, where the shale gas industry is most developed, front-month gas prices are only around
$2.60/MMBtu, and look very competitive against gas elsewhere in the world, where shale gas remains
undeveloped.
Platts spot European gas prices are around $9/MMBtu and spot Asian LNG, measured by the Japan Korea
Marker, around $18/MMBtu.
US gas also looks cheap compared with oil, equating to a price of around $15/b against oil prices of around
$110/b.
Some opponents of shale gas have argued that it should not be developed because greater use of gas could
increase global emissions. The IEA said, however, that energy related CO2 emissions would be 1.3% higher
in 2035 in its low unconventional case than in its golden rules case.
But it said, "greater reliance on gas alone" could not achieve the international goal of limiting the global
average temperature increase to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.
--Margaret McQuaile, [email protected]
--Alex Froley, [email protected]
23
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中国能源报 2012年06月04日 星期一
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天然气产业步入“黄金时代”
——本报独家专访IEA首席经济学家法提赫·比罗尔博士
本报记者 李慧
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《 中国能源报 》（ 2012年06月04日 第 07 版）
■比罗尔
５月２９日，国际能源署（ＩＥＡ）发布题为《天然气黄金时期的黄金法则》
（“Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas”）的报告。据了解，该报告是ＩＥＡ《２
０１２世界能源展望》系列报告的重要组成部分，其中对于非常规天然气产业的发
展，以及未来可能遇到的技术问题、环境影响、社会影响等提出了建议。
就在此份报告发表前夕，本报记者独家专访了ＩＥＡ首席经济学家法提赫·比罗尔博
士，聆听了他对该报告的阐述，以及对中国发展非常规天然气的意见和建议。
中国能源报：ＩＥＡ此前曾提到过，目前全球已经进入了天然气发展的“黄金时期”，
为何选择现在作为发表此份报告的时机？
比罗尔：的确，４年前就已经有观点提出，随着北美页岩气的大面积开发，我们已经
开始了一场天然气的革命，其中非常规天然气占据了十分重要的位置。
ＩＥＡ也在多份报告和文件中谈及天然气、特别是非常规天然气产业蓬勃发展的现
象，并指出，在页岩气、致密气、煤层气等储量巨大的非常规天然气的推动下，整个
天然气产业都将进入发展的黄金时期。但同时我们也注意到了发展非常规天然气过程
中遇到的诸多问题和挑战。为此，ＩＥＡ总结归纳了一系列有助于解决这些问题和挑
战的“黄金法则”，希望能够帮助解决发展非常规天然气过程中所面临的问题，特别是
环境影响问题。
中国能源报：报告中所提到的“黄金法则”是否是针对全球所有国家的？
比罗尔：是的。几乎全球所有的国家，无论其发展水平如何，都可以参考使用这份报
告中提到的“黄金法则”。
事实上，这份报告中提到的法则是我们用了近１年的时间，通过与各国政府、油气公
司、服务企业以及地质学家的沟通交流，最终总结出了７条发展天然气、特别是非常
http://paper.people.com.cn/zgnyb/html/2012-06/04/content_1062226.htm[10-Jun-12 18:05:29]
中国能源报-人民网
规天然气的“黄金法则”。
我们认为，在未来一段时间内，如果采用了上述法则，天然气、特别是非常规天然气
将能够在全球的能源供应中发挥举足轻重的作用，整个产业的未来是十分光明的。
中国能源报：在归纳总结这些法则的过程中，是否也研究分析了中国的情况？
比罗尔：中国是我们此次报告分析研究的重点之一。中国目前已经成为全球主要的天
然气生产国，同时也是全球第二大的非常规天然气生产国。中国在页岩气、煤层气等
方面的发展潜力都很大。根据我们目前掌握的数据，天然气目前仅占中国能源供应的
４％左右；我们预计，到２０３５年，这一数字将增长至１３％，这是一个很大的提
升。
天然气产业的迅速发展将给中国带来诸多好处，比如减少对环境的影响，增加能源供
应的多样化等。因此，这７项法则也同样适用于中国的情况。
中国能源报：非常规天然气的发展目前还存在一定的争议，比如开发页岩气的水力压
裂法等，ＩＥＡ为什么仍然对其充满信心？
比罗尔：非常规天然气的开发确实带来了一些问题，比如环境、水的问题。我们在此
次发布的法则中，也特别提到了开发非常规天然气过程中需要应对的问题，并给出了
相关的解决建议。
相信随着非常规天然气相关技术的不断进步，上述这些问题都会逐渐得到解决。现在
许多政府和企业都很重视这些问题，也在积极开发、完善相关技术。未来，对环境的
影响应该不会成为阻碍非常规天然气发展的障碍，非常规天然气仍将成为减少环境污
染的主要力量。
中国能源报：近年来，可再生能源的发展也十分迅速，天然气、特别是非常规天然气
同可再生能源相比，优势在哪里？未来天然气产业还面临哪些挑战？
比罗尔：风能、太阳能等可再生能源的发展确实很迅速，目前的发展状况也不错。不
过，与天然气相比，多数可再生能源项目虽然有助于减少温室气体的排放，但是仍然
需要政府的补贴支持，因此发展天然气产业的成本相对具有优势。另外，大量使用天
然气也有助于降低碳排，对保护环境也同样大有好处。
当然，天然气、特别是非常规天然气未来的发展仍然还需要解决一些问题，比如开发
技术方面，以及推动企业积极投资，这些都需要政府给予一定的支持和鼓励。我们看
到，中国的十二五规划中，对天然气也设定了自己的发展目标，这就是很好的趋势。
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French
© Le Monde, 2012. Tous droits réservés.
DANS UN rapport publié mardi 29 mai, l'Agence internationale de l'énergie (AIE) souligne l'importance des
impacts environnementaux du gaz de schiste. " Ce n'est pas un problème, c'est "LE" problème ", indique au
Monde Fatih Birol, chef économiste de l'agence, pour qui " les préoccupations environnementales ne sont
pas un "lobbying" vert, mais un souci parfaitement légitime ".
Le rapport ne tranche pas la question des émissions de gaz à effet de serre, observant que " les différentes
hypothèses sur le niveau des émissions de méthane peuvent avoir un effet profond sur la perception du gaz
comme un combustible "propre" ". En tout état de cause, " divers procédés existent pour limiter ces
émissions ", souligne M. Birol. Pour l'AIE, ces procédés, et tous ceux permettant de limiter " l'empreinte
environnementale " de l'exploitation des gaz de schiste, devraient être mis en oeuvre par les compagnies et
les Etats. Ces " règles d'or ", selon la formule de l'agence, sont la condition pour que le gaz de schiste
connaisse " l'âge d'or " que promettent des réserves mondiales immenses : il y aurait 331 000 milliards de m3
de gaz non conventionnels contre 421 000 milliards de m3 de gaz conventionnels. L'industrie du gaz de
schiste pourrait ainsi se développer largement - notamment en Pologne et en Chine.
Les problèmes environnementaux concernent aussi les émissions de gaz polluants, la consommation de
quantités importantes d'eau, la pollution des nappes phréatiques, l'impact sur les territoires (le gaz de schiste
requiert un puits au km2, contre moins d'un aux 10 km2 pour le gaz conventionnel).
Impact paysager
Sur presque tous ces points, l'AIE estime que les nuisances peuvent être évitées, à condition d'appliquer des
règles rigoureuses. Le coût n'en serait que de 7 % du coût de production. " Ce surcoût peut paraître
important, dit M. Birol, mais il est supportable si l'on considère les profits que réalisent les sociétés
concernées. "
Le document n'analyse cependant pas le coût de restauration des terrains alors que les puits ont un impact
paysager important et une durée de vie limitée à quelques années. L'agence recommande par ailleurs une
transparence totale sur les données qui concernent l'impact environnemental du gaz de schiste. " Les
compagnies doivent mesurer la qualité de l'air, du bruit et publier leurs mesures, dit M. Birol. La publication
de la liste et du volume des produits chimiques utilisés devrait aussi être obligatoire ".
" L'acceptation par le public " est la condition du développement du gaz de schiste, selon l'AIE, qui juge
souhaitable cette évolution.
H. K.
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Energy, Security, and Climate » Safe Fracking Looks Cheap
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Safe Fracking Looks Cheap
by Michael Levi
May 29, 2012
About This Blog
Share
The public battle over fracking tends to emphasize extremes:
some say that shale gas can’t be developed safely; others say
13
34
that new regulation would kill the industry. But a third set of
observers (myself included) has claimed that smart new rules
On Energy, Security, and Climate, CFR
experts examine policy challenges
surrounding energy, security, and climate
change.
About the Authors
would boost costs only marginally, while building public
Michael A. Levi
acceptance for drilling. A new study from the International
David M. Rubenstein Senior Fellow
for Energy and the Environment
Energy Agency (IEA) adds serious support to this middle way.
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The study, “Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas”, is worth reading in its entirety –
it’s a great assessment of the environmental challenges involved in developing
unconventional gas and of ways to address them. What jumps out at me, though, is how
Blake Clayton
Fellow for Energy and National
Security
the authors have gone beyond the usual hand-waving claims about how steps to ensure safe
drilling shouldn’t be too expensive. Instead, they’d actually done some concrete cost
Daniel P. Ahn
estimates.
Adjunct Fellow for Energy
The verdict? Adopting “Golden Rules” for shale gas development would add a mere seven
percent to the cost of each well. And though the IEA report doesn’t discuss this the impact
on the price of gas, at least in the United States, would be even less, because some of the
cost of delivered gas has nothing to do with well expenses: distribution costs, for example,
would be unaffected by new drilling rules; severance taxes and impact fees wouldn’t
@levi_m:
@Laurie_Garrett Let's read the paper
first. I'm usually skeptical of tipping point
predictions. Things tend to be muddier.
change; and corporate taxes would presumably fall a bit, since many compliance costs
could be written off. If you think that delivered gas will ultimately cost five dollars for a
thousand cubic feet, the IEA is saying that its golden rules would add less than thirty-five
http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2012/05/29/safe-fracking-looks-cheap/[10-Jun-12 17:46:32]
RT @blakehounshell: Mitt Romney's
Bain Capital colleague on the future of the
global economy http://t.co/SOejYmmw
Energy, Security, and Climate » Safe Fracking Looks Cheap
cents. Contrast that with the much bigger impact of a backlash against drilling, and you
RT @CFR_org: IAEA-Iran Talks: Three
Things to Know with CFR's @levi_m
http://t.co/GHFicH5W
have a pretty compelling case.
So what do the IEA “Golden Rules” entail? Some extra spending on “cement design,
selection and verification”, together with a bit of extra drilling time to make sure that
Follow Michael Levi on Twitter
things are done right. Green completions would be required to avoid flaring and venting.
Green fracturing fluids and rock solid treatment of produced water would protect
groundwater resources. The IEA even includes costs for soundproofing rigs and
Recent Posts
implementing some trucking restrictions in order to reduce noise pollution.
June 6th, 2012
The authors indicate that this suite of measures is an upper bound on the costs of a smart
Does Oil Abundance Mean Climate
Doom?
Over the past few months, I’ve found myself
invited to a growing number of workshops,
meetings, and conferences focused on…
environmental approach. They observe that large-scale development creates additional
ways to improve environmental performance while actually reducing costs. Economies of
scale, for example, can make better water infrastructure make simple economic sense,
reducing truck trips and improving safe disposal. “Systematic learning” about shale areas
can reduce the number of dry wells and unnecessary fracture stages, improving economics
while reducing environmental footprints. All told, the authors estimate that these and other
steps could cut costs by five percent. In case you’re keeping track, that’s a net impact of two
June 4th, 2012
Back to the Future of U.S. Energy
Security
The new secular reality in the U.S. oil
market—declining net imports, driven by
increasing domestic production and lower
demand—has been…
percent on production costs for large-scale development.
May 30th, 2012
The IEA estimates, of course, are extremely crude. It wouldn’t be surprising to see
compliance costs twice what they estimate – or half. Either way, the bottom line remains:
smart regulation of shale gas looks like it would be relatively cheap. It’s the excessively
hands off approach that could turn out to be a lot more costly.
Is South Korea Undermining
Sanctions Against Iran?
The Wall Street Journal delivered some
disturbing news yesterday: South Korea
“sharply boosted imports of Iranian crude”
in April, buying…
May 29th, 2012
Posted in Environment, Natural Gas
4 Comments
Share
Post a Comment
Posted by Chris Hope
May 29, 2012 at 12:38 pm
Any kind of sensible price on greenhouse gas emissions (methane in this case) would mean
that everyone involved in shale gas would do it safely. Why are we not bringing this policy
in as a matter of urgency?
Chris Hope @cwhope
Posted by LMADster
May 29, 2012 at 3:15 pm
To paraphrase Charlton Heston: “Keep your stinking paws off natural gas, you damned
dirty apes”
Posted by Aaron Rappaport
May 30, 2012 at 12:11 am
http://blogs.cfr.org/levi/2012/05/29/safe-fracking-looks-cheap/[10-Jun-12 17:46:32]
Safe Fracking Looks Cheap
The public battle over fracking tends to
emphasize extremes: some say that shale
gas can’t be developed safely; others say…
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Energy Agency Finds Safe Gas Drilling is Cheap - NYTimes.com
MAY 29, 2012, 1:21 PM
Energy Agency Finds Safe Gas Drilling is Cheap
By ANDREW C. REVKIN
The International Energy Agency has issued a report that is essential reading for anyone interested in
ensuring that the global boom in gas production facilitated by hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is carried
out with environmental integrity. The report, “Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas,” builds an
economic case for adopting practices and technologies that limit chances of water or air pollution and
produce adequate transparency to gain public confidence.
Pursuing this approach, the report concludes, would add just seven percent to drilling costs. Unchanged
practices could, by generating public distrust and resistance, limit the potential harvest.
As the agency’s chief economist, Fatih Birol (also the report’s lead author) put it in a statement, “If this
new industry is to prosper, it needs to earn and maintain its social license to operate. This comes with a
financial cost, but in our estimation the additional costs are likely to be limited.”
Michael Levi of the Council on Foreign Relations notes the report is a rough sketch, and the costs of best
practices and regulations could be higher or lower. But he largely endorsed its findings, as do I. [2:00
p.m. | Updated Brad Plumer* at the Washington Post has now weighed in, as well.]
Here’s a link to the presentation that accompanied the release of the report.
5:55 p.m. |Update
*At the asterisked spot above, I originally wrote that Ezra Klein weighed in, when it was Brad Plumer.
In my e-mail apology to Plumer, I explained: “Saw his photo and it misdirected my brain, Kahneman
style..” This link explains what I mean.
Copyright 2012 The New York Times Company
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NYTimes.com 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018
http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/energy-agency-finds-safe-gas-fracking-is-cheap/?pagemode=print[10-Jun-12 17:49:13]
Why regulating gas fracking could be cheaper than the alternatives - The Washington Post
Back to previous page
Why regulating gas fracking
could be cheaper than the
alternatives
By Brad Plumer, Published: May 29
We’re living in a “Golden Age of Gas,” says the International
Energy Agency. Trapped in shale-rock formations around the
world are trillions of cubic feet of unconventional natural gas.
And drillers now have the technology to pluck it out. That’s a
lot of cheap fuel — and it’s lower-carbon than coal.
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Mike Groll
AP
Not a fan of fracking.
But as always, there’s a catch. The technology used to extract natural gas from shale rock — known as
hydraulic fracturing — carries all sorts of unsettling side effects. The gallons of chemicals used for drilling
could, potentially, contaminate nearby drinking wells. The disposal of wastewater has been linked to
earthquakes in places like Ohio. And there’s the possibility that methane leaks from fracking could make
natural gas even worse for global warming than coal.
That, in turn, has led to a prickly debate over how fracking should be regulated. Industry groups sometimes
argue that too much regulation will stifle drilling and make this potent new energy source more costly. But
Michael Levi points to a new IEA report suggesting that careful regulations might end up being cheaper for
the industry than no regulations at all. Why? Because unrestrained fracking could lead to mass opposition
that limits new gas development altogether.
The IEA report (pdf) estimates that strict environmental regulations on fracking would add just 7 percent to
the cost of gas production. Here’s Levi: “The IEA estimates, of course, are extremely crude. It wouldn’t be
surprising to see compliance costs twice what they estimate — or half. Either way, the bottom line remains:
Smart regulation of shale gas looks like it would be relatively cheap.”
Under a scenario where governments and drillers agree to adopt these rules, the IEA expects production to
boom and natural gas to replace coal as the world’s second-largest energy source by 2035, behind oil. (This
is all assuming, by the way, that countries don’t take further action to curtail their carbon emissions —
doing so could affect natural gas, which is still a fossil fuel, even if it’s cleaner than coal.)
The no-regulation alternative, meanwhile, could prove even worse for the shale-gas industry. If strict
environmental rules aren’t adopted, the IEA warns that voters in countries around the world could turn on
drilling projects, especially if accidents became more commonplace. Anti-fracking protests like those in New
York State might become the norm.
In this case, the IEA projects, shale gas development probably wouldn’t rise much above current levels by
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...g-regulations-could-be-cheaper-than-no-regulations-at-all/2012/05/29/gJQAfcUKzU_print.html[10-Jun-12 17:50:55]
Why regulating gas fracking could be cheaper than the alternatives - The Washington Post
2035. Coal would maintain its dominant position as the fuel of choice for electricity production — and, as a
result, global greenhouse-gas emissions would be about 1.3 percent higher than otherwise.
So what are these “golden rules” for fracking, anyway? They include everything from choosing drilling sites
carefully to regulating the construction of wells and disposal sites to minimize the risk of leaks and
earthquakes. The IEA also calls for careful monitoring of drinking water and for technologies to tamp down
on methane leaks so as to minimize the climate impacts of fracking.
“If this new industry is to prosper, it needs to earn and maintain its social license to operate,” warned IEA
Chief Economist Fatih Birol, author of the report. “This comes with a financial cost, but in our estimation
the additional costs are likely to be limited.” And, at the very least, it might prove cheaper than the
alternatives.
© The Washington Post Company
http://www.washingtonpost.com/...g-regulations-could-be-cheaper-than-no-regulations-at-all/2012/05/29/gJQAfcUKzU_print.html[10-Jun-12 17:50:55]
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Last year, the world's energy watchdog published a report which asked an
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So I was struck when I saw the International Energy Agency's 2012
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http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/10/zakaria-the-game-changer-in-the-geopolitics-of-energy/[11-Jun-12 11:27:42]
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The technology behind shale gas production, where shale rock is blasted with a
mixture of water, sand, and chemicals, is only two decades old. The process is
energy
called fracking.
Related: Fracking — What is it?
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And in a short time, its success has led to the drilling of 20,000 wells in America,
Amar C. Bakshi
the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and a guaranteed supply of gas for
perhaps 100 years. The International Energy Agency says global gas production
will rise 50% by the year 2035; two-thirds of that growth will come from
unconventional sources like shale — a market the U.S. completely dominates.
We've become the world's lowest-cost producer of natural gas at a cost of $2 per
thousand cubic feet; compare that with many European countries which have to
pay seven times as much to Russia.
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Fareed Zakaria
It's increasingly possible to use liquified natural gas as a substitute for oil as a
transportation fuel, so the effects go beyond generating electricity. General Motors
is planning to produce cars that can take natural gas or oil in their fuel tanks.
Aside from the advantages to America, shale gas has the potential to change the
geopolitics of energy.
So far, gas has been supplied by a handful of regimes — Russia, Iran, Venezuela
— many of them nasty and illegitimate, thriving on global instability, which actually
helps their bottom line since instability equals higher oil and gas prices.
In the next 20 years, much of this energy could come from stable, democratic
countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, Poland, France and Israel.
That would be good for the free world, bad for the rogues and good for global
stability. China has huge shale reserves and, even though it is not democratic, it is
a country that seeks stability, not instability.
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One problem — there's a significant lobby against shale gas and the way it's
produced.
Fareed's TIME columns
Fracking consumes a lot of water.
Check out all of Fareed's TIME columns here:
Shale production also creates large quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas.
Sometimes methane pours out of faucets in areas near shale gas production
centers, as you can see in this video. Critics also claim fracking can
trigger minor earthquakes.
Time to say 'danke'
So what do we do?
The good news is these risks are manageable, as the IEA's new report points out.
And it has a list of "Golden Rules" to follow — from safety measures to reducing
emissions to engaging with local communities.
The IEA estimates these measures would add just 7% to the cost of the average
shale gas well.
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Many of the riskiest practices are employed by a small number of the lowest-cost
producers, a situation that calls for sensible regulation.
Let's figure out how to make fracking cleaner and safer. We can regulate the
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process with good, simple rules. The benefits are immense and the problems
manageable.
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http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/10/zakaria-the-game-changer-in-the-geopolitics-of-energy/[11-Jun-12 11:27:42]