In this blog post, we will look at how shale gas has changed the structure of the energy market and how it has affected resource conflicts and global peace.
Hello, I’m Shale. I’m a rock that every student has probably heard of at least once in Earth science class. Like me, sedimentary rocks with particles smaller than 63 micrometers are called shale. When you meet me, you’ll see how small my particles are and how interesting my dense structure is. Because of my small particles, my structure is very dense and I contain gas inside. In fact, my structure holds many secrets, not just gas. Did you know that the oil, gas, and other resources used as energy sources are all deeply related to rocks like me?
How did I get nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize? Of course, there are good reasons. Before that, let me brag a little. The biggest issue in the energy industry these days is shale gas. What is shale gas? As the word ‘shale’ in ‘shale gas’ suggests, the gas inside me is called shale gas. But shale gas is not just gas, it is an important resource with the potential to change the global energy structure.
Are you wondering how I got the gas? Let me explain why by comparing it to its cousin, oil. Oil is created when the remains of plankton and other organisms accumulate in water and are subjected to heat and pressure over a long period of time. At first, it is in a gaseous state, but it flows until it can no longer move and is compressed, becoming the liquid oil we know. In other words, crude oil is produced in different places than where it is found. That is why people search for oil and produce crude oil in various regions. However, in the case of the shale gas I have, gas is produced in me through the same process as oil, but as I mentioned earlier, I have a very small particle size. Because of my fine structure, the gas cannot move and remains in me. Since the gas is not moving and is trapped inside me, the method of extracting shale gas is also very unique.
So why did people suddenly become so interested in the shale gas I had? It’s because the profitability of shale gas has improved so much. In the past, people already knew about my existence and the gas that was in it, but it was economically burdensome to use it commercially. This was because there were problems with profitability. But things have changed.
People say they already knew about shale gas. However, until 2009, shale gas development was not profitable. But in 2009, a technology called “hydraulic fracturing” was developed in the United States, making it possible to develop shale gas much more cheaply. Thanks to this technology, I suddenly became a resource of interest in the energy market, and my name became widely known. Let’s learn more about the hydraulic fracturing technology that made me famous.
Hydraulic fracturing starts with drilling vertically into the ground and then horizontally once it reaches the targeted shale layer. After drilling horizontally like this, high-pressure water is shot toward the shale layer. All rocks like mine are strong against compressive forces but relatively weak against shear or tensile forces, so they are easily broken by water cannons if the direction of force is adjusted well. The cracks created by hydraulic fracturing become the pathways for the gas that I was holding, and the gas moves along these pathways into the borehole. Won’t the cracks created by hydraulic fracturing close? Of course, there is a way. In order to prevent the cracks from closing after they have formed, engineers have devised a method of adding sand to the water used in hydraulic fracturing. The sand gets between the cracks and holds them open. This hydraulic fracturing technology has made it easier and more economical to produce shale gas.
So how much cheaper has shale gas become? Shale gas is even cheaper than the LNG we were using before. Asian countries purchase LNG from North Africa, the Middle East, and South America for around $16 to $18 per MMBtu. However, if the United States imports shale gas, it can be purchased at a much lower price of about $10 to $13/MMBtu. Currently, shale gas is traded in the United States at a price of $3 to $3.5/MMBtu, which is only about one-fifth of the price of LNG. However, the liquefaction and transportation costs of gas will increase the price of shale gas exports to Asia. However, it is clearly cheaper than the LNG currently traded in the international oil market.
I have shown that the shale gas in my proposal is much cheaper than before thanks to the technology of hydraulic fracturing, making it more price-competitive than LNG. This is enough to make me a hot topic in the energy industry, right? And because of this, my existence has become a more valuable resource. Unlike in the past, when numerous countries competed and conflicted over securing energy resources, now resources can be collected from various regions.
Now, I will tell you why I was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Unlike conventional oil or LNG, shale gas is evenly distributed around the world. Until now, the Middle East has had a near monopoly on energy resources. However, as shale gas has become an economically valuable resource, the Middle East is no longer able to unilaterally monopolize resources. The Middle East, which was once called the world’s powder keg due to the armed conflicts between various countries over oil, has been able to enter a state of calm thanks to my shale gas. Thanks to me, the distribution of resources on Earth has become much more balanced, which has contributed to peace and stability around the world.
Of course, there are still many limitations to the development of shale gas. Hydraulic fracturing is an advanced technology and only a few companies have it. Therefore, it will take some more time before shale gas can be produced worldwide. In addition, a large amount of water is required for hydraulic fracturing, and this technology is difficult to apply in deserts in Africa or China where shale gas is stored. However, it is clear that my work has reduced the likelihood of resource wars and increased the availability of energy resources for the future. Thanks to these contributions, I have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. I hope to win the Nobel Peace Prize as well as the cover model of Time magazine. Please look forward to my future activities!
