Water-associated risks, including dwindling supplies and regulatory uncertainty, threaten to derail potential development of conven- tional and unconventional oil and gas resources if steps are not taken to curb the problem. Such risks could have the biggest impact on global shale gas, Middle Eastern oil, and China's coal mining and coal-fired power plant operations, according to analyst Wood Mackenzie, which released a research report in late November on the issue. Considering that the United Nations expects a 40% shortfall in the resource by 2030, pressure is on the energy industry, which uses 15% of the world's freshwater supplies, to find solutions.
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