In contrast to what has been a common belief still ten years ago, the prevailing wisdom now is that U.S. natural gas demand can be met entirely with natural gas produced domestically and at relatively low prices (around $5/MMBtu). Moreover, there might even be the opportunity for the U.S. to become a net exporter of…
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The Shale Gas Revolution:Introduction
Heterogeneity of State Shale Gas Regulations
The rapid rise in shale gas production has affected the role and importance of regulatory policy at all levels of government. As the primary regulator in this area, state level regulatory changes are particularly significant. As shale gas production increases, some states are updating their regulations, while others maintain dated rules, put in place prior…
Book Reviews
From Boom to Bust? A Critical Look at US Shale Gas Projections
U.S. shale gas production is generally expected to continue its fast rise of the last years. However, a cautious evaluation is needed. Shale gas resources are potentially overestimated and it is uncertain to what extent they can be economically produced. The adverse environmental effects of ever more wells being drilled may lead to a fall…
Economics and Politics of Shale Gas in Europe
In the wake of the dramatic growth in shale gas production in the United States, interest in shale gas exploration in Europe has been driven primarily by concerns over industrial competitiveness and energy security. A number of studies have been carried out to understand the success factors underpinning the US shale gas revolution and how…
Factors influencing shale gas production forecasting: Empirical studies of Barnett, Fayetteville, Haynesville, and Marcellus Shale plays
This paper reviews major findings and insights from a series of integrated geologic, engineering, economic, and econometric analyses performed on the four largest U.S. shale gas plays. Developments in the Barnett Shale, Fayetteville Shale, Haynesville Shale, and Marcellus Shale plays are explained on the basis of a comprehensive data set, including existing wells production histories,…
Offshore grids for renewables: do we need a particular regulatory framework?
Onshore, generators are connected to the transmission grid by TSOs. This regulatory model could simply be extended to offshore (i.e. Germany), but the connection of offshore wind farms to shore is also an opportunity to test alternatives, i.e. the third party model (i.e. the UK) or the generator model (i.e. Sweden). In this paper, we…
A Retrospective Review of Shale Gas Development in the United States: What Led to the Boom?
This paper reviews the economic, policy, and technology history of shale gas development in the United States. We aim primarily to answer the question of what led to the shale gas boom in the United States to help inform stakeholders in those countries that are attempting to develop their own shale gas resources. Our review…
Irish and British electricity prices: what recent history implies for future prices
This paper compares retail and wholesale electricity prices in SEM, the market of the island of Ireland, and BETTA in Great Britain. Estimated wholesale costs are much lower in BETTA. We show that this is mostly because the wholesale price in BETTA is set too low to cover generation costs, although it is compensated by…