[Articles] Shale gas fracks Gazprom

"An Unconventional Glut," The Economist, 11 Mar 2010. Here.

"A Foot on the Gas," Financial Times, 12 Mar 2010. Here.

Two articles on how fracking and the technology surrounding shale gas / liquified natural gas (LNG) are going to make America self-sufficient and spell doom for Russia's hydrocarbon economy. That is to say: "Gazprom, Russia’s gas giant, is the company most exposed to this threat, because its strategy relies on developing large—and costly—gasfields in inhospitable places." Of course, the success of shale drilling still rests on three unknowns - availability, profitability and environmental impact.

The FT article also engages in some exciting geopolitical speculation:

"The implications are profound. Policymakers have faced a trilemma: how to make energy supplies secure, affordable and clean. Now an abundance of gas appears to provide the answer to all three problems at once. In the words of Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, it is a "game changer" - certainly for America, and quite possibly for the world."

For the latter, the prospect of increased imports of LNG and the potential for its own unconventional gas production offer reprieve from dependence on Gazprom, the Russian gas export monopoly. A recent report by the Wood Mackenzie consultancy concluded that Russia's share of the European gas market was likely to fall from 29 per cent to 24 per cent this decade

Is the hydrocarbon war over? Or is this giddy speculation?