Governance of Shale Gas in India: Issues and Challenges

摘要

Shale gas is often described as a game changer in energy politics, prompting Daniel Yergin and Robert Ineson to define it as "the biggest energy innovation of the decade". The countries like India, with shale gas potential, must understand the problems of shale gas first so as to overcome the barriers to its development. Hydraulic fracturing is expected to be the subject of ongoing scrutiny and likely to remain a focus for environmental and citizen groups concerned about the potential environmental impacts associated with shale gas development.43 The environmental concerns can be overcome over the years with the help of technological advancement. In Ukraine, engineers have developed a new technology that uses pure water to fracture the shale formation instead of chemicals, which is seen as environmental friendly.44 The other concerns like, lack of regulatory regime to govern the various issues that arise due to shale gas development can be overcome through initiatives by the policy makers in the respective countries. If the existing legal regime governing exploration and production activities in a country is inadequate to govern shale gas, then there is an urgent need to come up with new regulatory framework taking into consideration the barriers to shale gas exploration and development. Shale gas is an opportunity for countries like India, heavily dependent on imports, and, if harnessed effectively, can bring about a change in the energy mix of the country.