SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Fracking the World: Energy Companies Set Their Sights Globally
Africa, Latin America may see biggest growth in fracking
Jan 20, 2012
While the drilling technique known as fracking has primarily occurred in North America, energy companies are now setting their sites far and wide to extend its use across the globe. The U.S. can expext to see even more fracking in the near future.
The energy news service Platts reports:
And although the US and Canada comprise the largest chunk of the hydraulic fracturing market by far -- just shy of 90% -- activity in other markets is expected to rise over the next several years, Richard Spears, vice president of oilfield consultants Spears & Associates, said during a Credit Suisse conference call about the hydraulic fracturing market. "If that international piece is $4 billion, $5 billion [in 2011], I think five years from now it grows to $10 billion," Spears said. Areas likely to show the biggest growth globally are Latin America, particularly Argentina, where shale drilling has gotten off to a running start, and parts of Africa. "Argentina sounds, looks and smells very much like West Texas," said Spears, adding Latin America currently accounts for $1.7 billion/year of fracturing revenues.
Meanwhile, the consultant projected that horizontal drilling -- most commonly used in shale and unconventional plays -- in the US would rise nearly 16% this year to around 18,600 wells, up from 16,100 last year and 12,225 wells in 2010.
Concerns of earthquakes in Ohio and the UK, well blowouts and water contamination following fracking operations have not deterred most companies' plans. Platts continues:
"Of the 15 frac companies I've visited with in the last three months, [just] one is cautious" about adding capacity this year, he said, while the rest are adding capacity at about the same pace as they did last year.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
While the drilling technique known as fracking has primarily occurred in North America, energy companies are now setting their sites far and wide to extend its use across the globe. The U.S. can expext to see even more fracking in the near future.
The energy news service Platts reports:
And although the US and Canada comprise the largest chunk of the hydraulic fracturing market by far -- just shy of 90% -- activity in other markets is expected to rise over the next several years, Richard Spears, vice president of oilfield consultants Spears & Associates, said during a Credit Suisse conference call about the hydraulic fracturing market. "If that international piece is $4 billion, $5 billion [in 2011], I think five years from now it grows to $10 billion," Spears said. Areas likely to show the biggest growth globally are Latin America, particularly Argentina, where shale drilling has gotten off to a running start, and parts of Africa. "Argentina sounds, looks and smells very much like West Texas," said Spears, adding Latin America currently accounts for $1.7 billion/year of fracturing revenues.
Meanwhile, the consultant projected that horizontal drilling -- most commonly used in shale and unconventional plays -- in the US would rise nearly 16% this year to around 18,600 wells, up from 16,100 last year and 12,225 wells in 2010.
Concerns of earthquakes in Ohio and the UK, well blowouts and water contamination following fracking operations have not deterred most companies' plans. Platts continues:
"Of the 15 frac companies I've visited with in the last three months, [just] one is cautious" about adding capacity this year, he said, while the rest are adding capacity at about the same pace as they did last year.
While the drilling technique known as fracking has primarily occurred in North America, energy companies are now setting their sites far and wide to extend its use across the globe. The U.S. can expext to see even more fracking in the near future.
The energy news service Platts reports:
And although the US and Canada comprise the largest chunk of the hydraulic fracturing market by far -- just shy of 90% -- activity in other markets is expected to rise over the next several years, Richard Spears, vice president of oilfield consultants Spears & Associates, said during a Credit Suisse conference call about the hydraulic fracturing market. "If that international piece is $4 billion, $5 billion [in 2011], I think five years from now it grows to $10 billion," Spears said. Areas likely to show the biggest growth globally are Latin America, particularly Argentina, where shale drilling has gotten off to a running start, and parts of Africa. "Argentina sounds, looks and smells very much like West Texas," said Spears, adding Latin America currently accounts for $1.7 billion/year of fracturing revenues.
Meanwhile, the consultant projected that horizontal drilling -- most commonly used in shale and unconventional plays -- in the US would rise nearly 16% this year to around 18,600 wells, up from 16,100 last year and 12,225 wells in 2010.
Concerns of earthquakes in Ohio and the UK, well blowouts and water contamination following fracking operations have not deterred most companies' plans. Platts continues:
"Of the 15 frac companies I've visited with in the last three months, [just] one is cautious" about adding capacity this year, he said, while the rest are adding capacity at about the same pace as they did last year.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.