[en] About 2 years after the Fukushima accident, 2 recent polls show that public opinion again favors nuclear energy in France. 52% of the population consider that nuclear energy is consistent with the challenges of the energy transition while 69% think that shale gas should have no room in an energy mix. For 46% of the population the challenges of the energy transition is first to assure the protection of the environment and then to assure the energy independence. (A.C.)

[en] An ambitious shale gas extraction plan has been proposed. The huge investment of shale gas may put an effect on the whole China’s economy, especially for employment. However, there is few study to date has quantified these effects. The aim of this paper is to quantify these effects especially employment creation and figures out whether shale gas investment in China is a good choice or not. Input-output analysis has been utilized in this study to estimate the employment creation in four different Chinese regions. Our findings show that shale gas investment will result in creating 660000, 370000, 140000 and 58000 equivalent jobs in Sichuan, Chongqing, Inner Mongolia and Guizhou, respectively. Considering the potential risks of environmental issues, we suggest that it may be a better strategy for the government, at least in the current situation, to slow down shale gas development investment. (paper)

[en] Tight oil has broad prospects for exploration around the world. There have been achieved success exploration and development of tight oil reservoirs in some foreign basins. China has a large area of unconventional oil and gas resources, of which coalbed methane and shale gas have been well studied, but tight oil is still in its infancy, and its evaluation basis is still weak. By analyzing the control factors of tight oil accumulation, the accumulation process and the accumulation dynamiction, it is believed that the basic theoretical work of tight oil accumulation should be carried out as soon as possible. Especially, there is an urgent need for breakthroughs in the study of the time relationship between tight oil accumulation and reservoir densification and formation mechanism of tight oil reservoir-forming dynamiction. (paper)

[en] Along with petroleum and coal, natural gas is the primary cause of global warming. Equiterre believes that the energy sector must be completely decarbonised by 2050 if catastrophic consequences caused by this warming are to be avoided. The Utica shale formation in the Saint Lawrence Valley has been the object of much prospecting activity. The aim of the present study is therefore to determine if the development of shale gas can play a transitional role in the move towards a decarbonised energy system. To do this, Equiterre considers that gas should be substituted for more polluting fuels as quickly as possible and that thereafter it should be rapidly replaced by carbon-free fuels. Equiterre also considers, however, that the establishment of a shale gas industry in Quebec would only increase the overall volume of greenhouse gas emissions. Equiterre concludes that the setting up of a shale gas industry in Quebec is a purely commercial proposition which, at the best, would contribute nothing to the struggle to combat climate change.

[en] Renewable energy technologies are often idealized as environmentally innocent alternatives to fossil fuels. Fossil fuel extraction is often considered as ‘unjust’ and renewable energy as the ‘just’ alternative. At the same time renewable energy projects, such as wind parks, are often resisted because of the uneven impacts of its infrastructure. This paper analyses such ambiguous meanings of energy justice (social justice issues related to energy) along the lines of its three tenets: distributional, procedural and recognition justice, aiming to understand how energy justice is constructed from below. It does so on the basis of a case study in the Noordoostpolder (the Netherlands) where plans for extracting shale gas went together with both large-scale and small-scale renewable energy practices. The paper analyses how energy justice is ‘made’ by how people resist shale gas and engage in 'renewable energy practices' and as such produce new imaginations and normativities of energy justice. Such an ethnographic approach helps to understand energy justice as a process of co-construction of activists, policy makers and scholars and as such responds to recent calls for a human-centred approach to the study of energy transitions. The paper is based on two and a half years of ethnographic fieldwork in the Noordoostpolder. - Highlights: • Energy justice link small-scale energy practices and large-scale energy projects. • Energy justice should be analysed within its specific history, time and location. • Energy justice is constructed through social practices, not only discourses. • Local practices and imaginations of energy justice are key to project development.

[en] Laifeng-Xianfeng Block whose licensee of exploration belongs to China Huadian Corporation, is located in the west of Hubei province, the eastern edge of the Sichuan Basin and close to the eastern Sichuan high steep fold belt. This block is a mountain landform, in which the geology conditions are complicated. Thus, this paper focuses on 11 two-dimension seismic data and one discovery well in this block. By jointing logging to seismic, the bottom interface of shale gas reservoir in Wufeng-Longmaxi Formation are determined precisely and this type of Formation is characterized by low frequency, strong dual phases, stable distribution, and can be traced in the full-region. Finally, the structure style and distribution of target formations are identified, on the basis of which the integrated evaluation of preservation conditions for shale gas syncline structure is carried out, leading to a selection of Lianghekou Syncline for the best exploration area, which lays a foundation for the future exploration and deployment of shale gas. (paper)

[en] Shale gas remains a contentious issue in France. Just as a debate is being initiated in Parliament in preparation for a law on energy programming, it seems crucial to overcome the status quo induced by the law of July 13, 2011 which forbids the mere exploration of this source of energy. According to the Institut Montaigne (a think tank), shale gas represents a core asset for France. (authors)

[en] Shale gas has gained increasing worldwide attention in the light of the rapid production and significant effects seen in the United States. Using this case as a reference, several countries have taken the first steps to develop their own resources, with Mexico in particular including shale gas in its energy planning priorities and rushing towards its commercial production, although results have still remained elusive. This paper argues that due to the intrinsic complexity embedded in the shale gas development of the United States, its use as a benchmark by Mexico for policy making purposes is misleading, given the challenges in reproducing the same factors of success on the basis of the contextual differences between both countries. The findings presented can ultimately be helpful for other countries looking forward to or in the process of developing their shale gas resources driven by the same reference. -- Highlights: •The U.S. is generally regarded as the major benchmark to shale gas development. •Its use however, might be misleading without considering the structural complexity embedded. •Despite Mexico’s shale gas potential and policies, results have remained elusive. •In using this benchmark, Mexico has overlooked the ample differences underlying. •Instead of replication, this benchmark can be more useful for adaptive policymaking

[en] The recent decision by the Constitutional Council confirming the ban on hydraulic fracturing doused the hopes of proponents of shale gas production. But the real debate on the advantages and drawbacks of unconventional hydrocarbons (UHC) hasn't really started. Roland Berger Strategy Consultants reveals its scenarios, presenting the socio-economic impacts of developing HNC in France. (author)

[en] Engineering advances in Canada are making unconventional gas plays more attractive, and provincial governments are looking to tap the economic benefits. Regulators are adjusting existing oil and gas regulations or drafting completely new legislation. This paper presented an overview of the rules for shale gas development in provinces with shale gas development potential, with particular reference to the following 4 regions: (1) British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan where natural gas development is a relatively well-established and significant part of the local economy, (2) Nova Scotia and New Brunswick where shale gas stands to significantly change the regulatory environment, (3) Quebec where local opposition to shale gas development is challenging for a provincial government that has relatively little experience in the area of oil and gas regulation, and (4) Ontario, where development potential seems to be limited. The paper identified 3 areas that often receive the most attention from regulators, notably tenure and development approval, with a focus on lands where gas rights are owned by the provincial crown; royalties, including any shale-specific incentive programs; and environmental regulation, with a focus on sourcing and use of water, management of produced and recovered waste water, and rules regarding frac fluid. The paper provided a big picture of Canada's legal system and then discussed the provincial situations. The future of shale policy and the American experience concluded the report. It was concluded that it is unlikely that the federal government of Canada will play a lead role in regulating shale development in this country. refs., figs.