Australia Sitting on Huge Shale Gas Reserves

Australia could be sitting on huge shale gas reserves but the benefits could not easily be won as full exploitation will be costly and would require great skill, capital and careful management of any impacts on ecosystems and natural resources.

“The commonly cited resource estimate of 396 trillion cubic feet (tcf ) of gas is based on only four basins; if all prospective basins are considered, the undiscovered resource could be in excess of 1000 tcf, though the value has a high degree of uncertainty,” Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) said in a report.

ACOLA on Tuesday launched a report Engineering Energy: Unconventional Gas Production which examines the spectrum of issues facing the development of a shale gas industry in Australia.

The Australian shale gas industry is very small by North American standards but has had some early success, and together with work on tight gas, it expects to spend more than $500 million on exploration over the next 1-2 years, the report said.

On the issue of restriction of export of gas, the report said implementing this could be a challenge in a market economy “but an alternative suggestion that Government could work with industry to create vital infrastructure, particularly in remote parts of Australia, to encourage the development of a more cost effective and more widespread shale gas industry, warrants consideration.”

The report found that the increased use of gas, including shale gas, in place of coal for electricity generation could significantly decrease Australia’s greenhouse gas provided ‘green completion schemes’ and associated codes of best practice are adopted to minimise the greenhouse gas emissions associated with shale gas production.

“Shale gas could be an important new energy option for Australia, but the challenges will need to be carefully managed”, commented Professor Cook, Chair of the Expert Working Group and report co-author.