Shale concerns

Some more news on shale gas and fracking! After deciding to ban shale gas exploration, the French government seems to have second thoughts. Perhaps inspired by the UK climate panel report.

Meanwhile, a new study on emissions on natural gas throws up a different picture from that painted by Cornell University last month. The Cornell study had found that GHG footprint of shale gas was more than natural gas, and even coal. But now, National Energy Technology Laboratory in the US has recently released its own study showing a different result.

NETL looked at both a 100-year timeframe and a 20-year time frame, and in both cases found that life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas were substantially lower than coal. According to the findings, natural gas emitted 50% fewer emissions than coal over a 20-year GWP and emitted 55% fewer emissions over a 100-year GWP.

These studies do not, however, factor in the concerns about methane release into water or whether fracturing fluids will cause environmental and health problems. As NETL concludes in the study: “All opportunities need to be evaluated on a sustainable energy basis: Environmental performance, economic performance and social performance.” How pertinent, but how often neglected.