European Shale-Gas Drilling Will Need More Water, Analyst Says

(Bloomberg) -- Natural-gas deposits in shale rocks in Europe lie deeper than those in the U.S. and more water will be needed to drill the wells, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Co.

The hydraulic-fracturing method, which pumps water, sand and chemicals into the ground at high pressure, allowed the U.S. to bring production from shale formations to about 20 percent of the nation’s supply, IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates said on March 10.

Europe has less renewable water resources than the U.S., Bernstein analyst Oswald Clint said in a report today.

“Shale-gas development in Europe using hydraulic fracturing will only be approved after a long debate in Brussels, and once a carefully structured drilling plan protecting limited existing and future water resources is developed,” Clint said.

Poland has been targeted by Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. for its shale-gas potential.

Houston-based ConocoPhillips, which has an option to develop as many as 1 million acres in the Silurian shale formation that cuts through Poland under an exploration agreement with Warsaw-based Lane Energy, plans to drill the first well this year, according to Kamlesh Parmar, country manager for Lane Energy.