Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
socioeconomic development - lowering the gas price for households and
industry, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and adding billions to state
and federal coffers for GDP growth.
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The US natural gas supply has increased
by 28% since 2005, and in 2011 about a third of domestic production came
from shale gas. In 2010, prices at Henry Hub4 were less than $5.00 per
million British thermal units (MBTU) and it was $2.46 in February 2012. This
decreasing price trend will result in more than $2000 additional disposable
income per household in 2035.
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These price gaps are also giving energy-
intensive US manufacturing industries, like petrochemicals, a competitive
edge and making the US an attractive location for capital investment, which
will pull US manufacturing industry out of recession and give a strong boost
to the economic recovery. Shale gas supported more than 600 000 direct,
indirect and induced jobs (i.e. jobs generated by the re-spending of received
income resulting from direct and indirect job creation in the affected re-
gion). As the share of shale gas production increases to 60% in 2035, de-
velopment of this resource will support more than 1.6 million jobs.
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The
oversupply of natural gas also makes the US energy self-sucient and will
create downward pressure on gas prices across the globe if the US exports its
surplus shale gas to other markets, like the EU or Japan where the market
price is much higher.
For China, copying the shale gas development from the US will reduce the
need for gas imports and satisfy the gas demand needed to continue pow-
ering the booming economy. China's natural gas price is currently four times
more than that of the US. Shale gas development will be good for companies
in China; it will help the oil industry and related industries in terms of
manufacturing, oilfield service and gas-fired power generation, create more
employment and reduce gas prices for households and commercial clients.
This appears to provide a cheaper route to a lower carbon economy than
high-cost renewables. For the oil industry, the Chinese oilfield services
companies, including Yantai Jereh Oilfield Services Group Co, SPT Energy
Group, Kingdream Public Limited Company, Anton Oilfield Services,
Honghua Group and others, have started manufacturing shale-gas drilling
and fracturing equipment and other services for shale gas exploration. Re-
cently, the Chinese Jereh's equipment for shale gas has been tested suc-
cessfully in dicult topographic conditions and the company's shale gas
fracturing equipment has been exported to the US since 2011. China's shale
gas exploration also provides many opportunities for US service companies
to supply tools, technology services, etc. Many of these companies' shale gas
concept shares continue to surge. International service companies, like
Halliburton, Schlumberger, Weatherford, etc., have sold many shale gas
hydraulic fracturing tools and provided fracturing services for horizontal
shale gas wells in many of PetroChina and Sinopec's recent shale gas wells.
There will also be other opportunities in related industries and sectors, such
as downstream uses, e.g. gas-fired power generation, feedstock fuel. A better
economy powered by clean shale gas and new business opportunities in
many of the above-mentioned industries related to shale gas will help
