| Popis: |
Outside of the United States (US), unconventional gas resources like shale gas have not been intensively studied or explored until recently. This paper describes the specific environmental risks and potential social impacts of shale gas exploration and how lessons learned from the US shale gas programs can be transferred to new ventures in Poland and other European countries. Compared to conventional gas resources, the extraction of natural gas from tight shales is more difficult and therefore requires additional efforts. These are mostly related to the need for long-reach horizontal drilling into shale formations of variable thickness and the need for fracturing these formations by high pressure water with additives (e.g. sand, friction reduction agents, and other chemicals). Environmental risks are associated with greater surface disturbance to perform more extensive seismic studies, more traffic and well pad activities, the need for large volumes of water, the application of water additives, and specialized wastewater handling. Aspects that need to be considered in the development of Polish (European) assets are more densely populated areas, land divided in smaller parcels, a relatively large number of protected areas, as well as the typical issues associated with gas development such as stormwater management, air emissions, spill management, social aspects, and stakeholder engagement. This paper discusses these potential issues and provides a review in tabular form along with potential mitigation and management programs, which have been successfully applied by operators in US shale gas programs. The ability to identify the potential impacts and then develop focused mitigation programs is a key factor in developing a well rounded SHE program and facilitate acceptance of shale gas exploration in Poland and Europe. |
