Articles Tagged with ''shale gas''

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The ongoing shale revolution will see the U.S. ethylene industry surge in the near future, growing by more than a third by 2017, predicts the latest report from business intelligence experts GlobalData

Plentiful shale gas resources in Texas are set to help its petrochemical industry expand not just on the domestic market but also overseas.

It’s all a matter of vocabulary. First the word “shale” entered the daily water-cooler discourse, along with “horizontal drilling” and “fracturing.” It wasn’t long before large swaths of the American public realized the natural-gas energy revolution was on.

Coal consumption in the United States is going to fall by an estimated 14 percent between 2011 and 2017, as more power stations will be operating using cheap shale gas.

According to BP, the next two decades will witness strong growth in production of gas and oil from unconventional sources, which will cause a significant change in global energy markets.

Despite waning local demand, European butadiene markets remain strong thanks to overseas export demand, according to GBI Research. Increased U.S. use of shale gas as an energy source is leading to a shortage of locally produced petrochemicals, boding well for the European butadiene market.

Tempted by the U.S. shale gas revolution that could soon see that country top the charts in natural gas production, countries around the world are considering introducing the same technology, in the hope of achieving similar results.

While the United States is taking advantage of its shale gas production boom, countries across the Atlantic have responded with a sharp increase in burning of coal to fuel local utilities, despite EU regulations intended to reduce fossil fuels.

The government of Australia's state of Queensland intends to give the go-ahead to the development of a commercial shale oil industry, Natural Resources Minister Andrew Crips said earlier this week.

The state of North Carolina is considering moves to lift the ban on fracking operations, despite concerns raised by green organizations that drilling works might pose a threat to the environment.