Osterath, B. (2016, July 20). What ever happened with Europe’s fracking boom? | Environment | DW.COM | 20.07.2015. Retrieved November 21, 2016, from http://www.dw.com/en/What-ever-happened-with-europes-fracking-boom/a-18589660
About 5 years ago, shale gas looked like it could become the major fossil fuel source for Europe. Eastern European countries in particular looked at fracking as a way to make themselves energy-independent from Russia. However the shale gas boom in Europe has died after countries have found it simply was not economically viable. Test wells have not performed as expected and environmental protests have caused testing to become expensive and drawn out. Poland and Romania have had foreign investors pull out from fracking sites and Sweden and Norway found that they could not take advantage of their shale gas resources.
A switch to shale gas could reduce to environmental footprint of European countries. If fracking isn’t viable in most of Europe, it rules out shale gas as a possible major fossil fuel source. While fracking is still allowed in certain parts of Europe, like the UK, it seems like most of the continent is reluctant to make the switch. Ideally these countries should try to lower their environmental impact by using shale gas, but it simply may not be reasonable for these countries to start fracking.
This is so interesting and makes you think about what type of gas is good for our environment. Interesting how Europe ruled out the use of fracking.
This is really interesting especially because we are learning about fossil fuels right now! I know that low prices of crude oil have kept investors away. Now that the shale gas boom has died down I suspect that investors have lost all interest. Is Europe moving towards being energy dependent on Russia again?
This is a really interesting article. I think it’s great that Europe is looking for other forms of energy and to not be dependent on Russia. I also find it interesting that many countries in Europe ruled out fracking.
I wonder why they do not want to use fracking, it seems better and more cost efficient and also healthier.