Shale gas is the American bait for Europe!

Recently a theme of production of shale gas received the increasing attention in foreign mass-media. As a rule it is given as the new energy source is found and thanks to this circumstance now not only the USA, but also all Europe will pass to gas production from shales. Here is a conclusion: farewell, GAZPROM! The Russian gas will be not necessary more and, moreover, Russia which isn't engaged in shales, now will hopelessly lag behind …

We have decided to find out whether it is so from Vladimir Arkadevich Kashirtsev, the member-correspondent of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the doctor of geological and mineralogical sciences, the first deputy director of A.A. Trofimuk Institute of Oil and Gas Geology and Geophysics on scientific work.

- Natural gas is far unequivocal on the properties. The associated oil gas, i.e., the gas which we receive on gas-processing installations of refinery is one thing, the gas condensate deposits is another. I suspect that very few people know including me what the shale gas is.
In Kuzbas the works on development of methane of coal layers are conducted, but it has no any relation to shales.

- The talking about production of shale gas has started in the USA in the first half of XIX century.

- The matter is that at this time in the USA the resources of huge shale pool have been just reconnoitered, the so-called formation Green River. Once there was a huge lake and deposits with the big share of sapropelic organic chemistry were formed – as oil matrix, so gas matrix thickness has turned out. The possibility of processing of shales of Green River in liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons was investigated for many long years with variable success and even the pilot installations have been constructed. And, it is necessary to say, not only the United States, but also Australia were engaged too in processing of sapropelites (torbanites) in hydrocarbon raw materials, but finally these works have been stopped. The deposits of combustible shales in due time have been found out in Estonia and Leningrad region (kukersites). It was used as power raw materials in Estonia, burned on power stations and received the thermal energy.

I think that while the intensive development of deposits of shale gas won't be for that simple reason that the stocks of natural gas are very great. The theme of shale gas in this respect is simply irrelevant for Russia now. As to decontamination of coal layers, so these works are of great importance both for power, and for safety of working out actually coal.

- Who is engaged in production of shale gas except the USA?

- Poland is engaged, there is a whole series of deposits where not combustible, but carbonic gas is produced. And this is absolutely other technology. Anyway, but the shale gas is, let’s say, not at the level of design workings out.

- They say that we lag behind in it! The European press predicts directly a collapse to us …

- Certainly, the shales of Green River are the unique deposit, but it is located only in the territory of two states. As to Europe, there are not so much the shale pools and the quality of shales is not always satisfactory.

There is variety of the sedimentary formations in Russia containing the sapropelic shales and they name them as “combustible”. These are the Cambrian shales on the Siberian platform, Jurassic Bazhenov suite in the Western Siberia, Devonian domanik on the Russian platform and a number of others. These formations are on the depth of one and a half – two and more kilometers on more part of territory and they are oil- and gas matrix rocks for the largest oil and gas deposits, but there is no reason to be engaged in them seriously now as independent gas contenting rocks.

- There is a feeling that one more “bubble” is created round the production of shale gas just as it occurred round a mortgage and the Internet companies …

- I’m agree. Anyway, the given subjects can represent today only scientific interest for the Russian experts. Unlike the quite traditional theme of natural gas production.

- Vladimir Arkadevich, do we have a lot of it?

- Our Institute under the direction of the academician Alexey Emilevich Kontorovich spends the work according to resources of oil and gas till 2050 and further on prospect. So, the natural gas will be sufficient till 2050 precisely. And after all we still won’t touch the Arctic shelf at all! Now it is possible to speak only about the Shtokmanovsky deposit in the Barents Sea, two deposits in the Kara Sea. For comparison I will tell that all Gulf of Mexico already drilled at depth of water to two kilometers. The shelf is various and there are small depths, as the Laptev Sea. There is another problem there – the ices.

- But the forecasts say that the ice cover in the Arctic regions strongly decreases and the same Chineses only wait when there will be no ice on the Northern sea way.

- The warming with present rates can go yet not for one thousand years. We have the Cainozoic periodization of warming and freezing, one periods are replaced by others. There are the conversations on solving influence of greenhouse effect … It is simply a drop in the sea in comparison with those geological processes which occur in the millennium or even for millions years.

- Will the North and the Eastern Siberia be the main base for our country in respect of production of hydrocarbon raw materials?

- It is not absolutely so. The Western Siberia remains the basic resource base of the country for the following 50 years all the same. It is absolutely exact and we have to work and work here! After all it is studied not all. For example, the water area of the Kara Sea. Yenisei-Khatanga regional deflection is in the northern regions on the east from the West Siberian plate– the branch, namely the group of Vankorsky deposits is opened on this branch.

As to Eastern Siberia, there is the investigation there. The territory of Yakutia continues to be investigated: many regions almost aren't studied. Five-six holes on one million square kilometers is not enough. The degree of study is small and there is something to work in future decades.

- And all wants to locate in the Arctic: not only China, but even India and South Korea …

- Look: the Norwegians and Englishmen work in the North Sea for a long time, the deposits exhausted slowly by this time and it means it is necessary to search for the new one. The countries which have no exit on a shelf of the Arctic, consider themselves offended and believe that the rules of development of these territories should change.

Now there is a question on definition and differentiation of adjoining territory of a shelf. A question: where the shelf comes to an end? Where the continental slope begins? Our institutes and the enterprises such as All-union Scientific Research Institute “Okeangeologia” and “Sevmorgeo” make the purposeful researches in this respect.

The seismic survey is made on the water areas of Ob and Khatanga “lips”, the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. They are connected with studying of deep structure of a shelf – the perspective structures on which it will be possible to leave further with exploratory survey is allocated.

As to our institute, so it works in wide range of fundamental and applied researches. It is necessary to understand, that there are the results even from especially fundamental works in “dry rest” which can form a basis for practical recommendations about directions of oil and gas searching works, mainly in the territories of the Western and the Eastern Siberia and an adjoining shelf.