PERTH (miningweekly.com) – While shale gas was likely to become an important energy source in Australia, it would cost significantly more than in the US, a report by the Australian Council of Learned Academies (ACOLA) has found.

Chair of the ACOLA expert working group and report coauthor, Professor Peter Cook, said that the Australian shale gas experience would be very different to the industry’s rapid development in North America.

“Overall, we found that there is great potential for shale gas in Australia but the benefits will not be easily won. It will cost more than in the US and it will require great skill, capital and careful management of any impacts on ecosystems and natural resources.” 

“To be successful, any shale gas industry will require an informed and supportive community, and transparent and effective regulations and companion codes of practice,” Cook said.

The report noted that because of the manner in which shale gas is produced, it had the potential to impact on the landscape, on ecosystems, on surface water and groundwater, on the atmosphere, on communities, and, rarely, could result in minor induced seismicity.

“It will be vital for industry and government to recognise the complexity of the challenges posed by these possible impacts. However, most can be minimised where an effective regulatory system and best monitoring practice are in place and can be remediated where they do occur,” the report read.

If the shale gas industry was to earn and retain the social licence to operate, it was a matter of some urgency to have such a transparent, adaptive and effective regulatory system in place and implemented, backed by best-practice monitoring in addition to credible and high-quality baseline surveys, ACOLA noted.

The report found that the increased use of gas, including shale gas, in place of coal for electricity generation could significantly decrease Australia’s greenhouse gas, provided ‘green completion schemes’ and associated codes of best practice are adopted to minimise the greenhouse-gas emissions associated with shale gas production.

“Shale gas could be an important new energy option for Australia, but the challenges will need to be carefully managed,” Cook said.