Managing Environmental Risks from Shale Gas Exploration -Applying Lessons Learned in the US to New Ventures in Poland

摘要

Outside of the United States (US), unconventional gas resources like shale gas have not been intensively studied or explored untilrecently. This paper describes the specific environmental risks and potential social impacts of shale gas exploration and howlessons learned from the US shale gas programs can be transferred to new ventures in Poland and other European countries.Compared to conventional gas resources, the extraction of natural gas from tight shales is more difficult and therefore requiresadditional efforts. These are mostly related to the need for long-reach horizontal drilling into shale formations of variable thicknessand the need for fracturing these formations by high pressure water with additives (e.g. sand, friction reduction agents, and otherchemicals).Environmental risks are associated with greater surface disturbance to perform more extensive seismic studies, more traffic andwell pad activities, the need for large volumes of water, the application of water additives, and specialized wastewater handling.Aspects that need to be considered in the development of Polish (European) assets are more densely populated areas, land dividedin smaller parcels, a relatively large number of protected areas, as well as the typical issues associated with gas development suchas stormwater management, air emissions, spill management, social aspects, and stakeholder engagement.This paper discusses these potential issues and provides a review in tabular form along with potential mitigation and managementprograms, which have been successfully applied by operators in US shale gas programs.The ability to identify the potential impacts and then develop focused mitigation programs is a key factor in developing a wellrounded SHE program and facilitate acceptance of shale gas exploration in Poland and Europe.