EurActiv: Instead of a Shale Bonanza in the EU, a Shale Fata Morgana

When Chevron announced last week that it is quitting shale gas exploration in Poland, I had to think back to that joke about nuclear fusion, often told among energy nerds: “A fusion reactor is only 30 years away, and always will be”. In the 1960s, it was 30 years away. And in 2015, it still is. Despite billions spent on it. Having closely observed the EU’s debate on shale gas over the last years, I am convinced that shale gas will go the same way. A breakthrough will always remain on the horizon, seemingly within grasp, but never actually materializing. Instead of a fracking bonanza, the EU is left with a shale gas fata morgana.

To some extent, the shale promoters have set themselves up for failure. Inflated claims by OGP – the upstream oil & gas sector - that a shale boom scenario could contribute one third of current EU gas demand were so outlandish that they were never taken serious. Similarly, a 2012 report by the Polish company PKN Orlen claimed that shale gas could make Poland, within a decade, essentially self-sufficient in terms of its gas needs and deliver “510 thousand new jobs”.

In the real world, shale gas in the EU has never failed to disappoint.

Read the full article HERE.