BP Expects Shale Revolution to Expand Beyond US

The ‘shale revolution’ is expected to continue, with shale gas more than doubling its share of the market, according to latest BP Energy Outlook released Wednesday.  

“Technological innovation and productivity gains have unlocked vast resources of tight oil and shale gas, causing us to revise the outlook for US production successively higher,” BP said.

US shale gas is now expected to grow by around four percent annually between 2014 and 2035.  This means US shale gas will account for around three-quarters of total US gas production in 2035, almost 20 percent of global output, according to BP.

Shale gas production growth is also expected to move beyond the US. BP expects shale gas to expand outside of North America, most notably in Asia Pacific and particularly in China, where shale gas production reaches 13 Bcf/d by 2035.

Globally, shale gas is expected to grow by 5.6 percent per annum between 2014 and 2035, well in excess of the growth of total gas production.  As a result, the share of shale gas in global gas production more than doubles from 11 percent in 2014 to 24 percent by 2035.