The Australian: US shale hinders Russian gas expansion

The US shale boom is making it harder for Russia to expand its energy production ahead of an expected fall in international gas prices.

And a potential shale revolution in Europe could pose a further challenge to Russia's oil and gas industry following widespread global condemnation of its intervention in Ukraine.

A global oil and gas report says the era of Russian "easy oil" has ended and the country now has to look to exploit resources in geographically isolated and more costly frontiers such as Siberia and the Arctic.

While Russian exploration and production spending is due to increase by $6 billion to $60 billion this year, the nation's oil and gas projects will require high energy prices to be economically viable, Deloitte's 2014 Oil and Gas Reality Check report says.
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