The shale frenzy comes to Europe

摘要

The country is host to several plays that could yield trillions of cubic feet of gas. Unconventional" gas plays are no longer unconventional. The exploitation of gas resource plays in North America has now developed to such an extent that 50% of US gas production comes from coalbed gas, tight sand gas, and shale gas. Of these, shale gas is the fastest-growing. In the five-year period between the beginning of 2004 and the end of 2008, US shale gas production almost tripled, from 1.88 Bcf/d to 5.52 Bcf/d. In 2008, US shale gas production exceeded coalbed gas production for the first time.