Gazprom: Shale Environmental Risks and Lack of Technology May Be Costly

The possible environmental hazards of shale gas activity may raise the cost of production, Gazprom's Board of Directors has concluded. The company also concluded that shale gas production may cost twice as much as in the United States.

A statement released by the company following a meeting on shale gas industry developments worldwide said that the lack of equipment in Europe at present was limiting shale gas development.

"Europe presently lacks for the equipment required for shale gas fields development," the statement read. "Thus, the prime cost of shale gas production in Europe will be twice as high as in the USA."

The company said a lack of technological development in the field, coupled with the associated environmental risks, may add to the overall cost of production.

"The meeting underscored that the previous year had not seen the distribution of any breakthrough technologies providing for a significant decrease in the shale gas production costs," the company said. "At that, more stringent environmental requirements for the companies developing shale gas may raise the shale gas production costs."

Gazprom also disputed the perceived importance of shale gas by the media.

"Non-conventional gas including shale gas has been increasingly attracting public attention worldwide, but it is no news for the gas industry," the company said.