Massive UK Shale Gas Reserves Possible — Reuters

Although there are still no reliable figures available for the UK, and only around 10-20 percent of total reserves are currently deemed recoverable, experts say that whatever the final recoverable reserve figure is, it is likely to be big enough to make Britain energy self-sufficient.

The head of the unconventional gas division of Royal Dutch Shell plc (NYSE: RDS-A) told Reuters:

We have potentially huge volumes present in the subsurface – the volumes are mind-blowingly big. The figures appear to suggest the shale resources are so large that the question is not how much is out there, but how much can be retrieved – how much can be economically accessed in an environmentally acceptable way.

That’s the good news. The not-so-good-news, according to a subsurface geologist and geophysicist at the British Geological Survey:

For the offshore industry to become viable, you’d need vastly higher energy costs, perhaps as high as $200 (per barrel) or more. But we’re dealing with a finite resource, so it will happen.

The UK just approved hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for onshore shale gas deposits.

Paul Ausick