Hay GAS y OIL para aburrir, el problem es que es "UNCONVENTIONAL"
más contaminante y más costoso.

No va a haber ningún madmax

The unconventional gas revolution is both smaller and larger than you might think [ClearOnMoney]

Global natural gas resources could be more than quadrupled, helping tackle climate change, if the world adopted US technology and expertise to tap unconventional sources, according to a report by PFC Energy, a consultancy. …

“You're talking about massive new resources,” said Nikos Tsafos, PFC's upstream and gas group senior analyst. “Even if you only got 10 per cent of [the total resources], given the need for economic viability at each formation, you would increase the reserve base globally by 50 per cent.”


Consequences

According to the 2009 British Petroleum Statistic Review of World Energy, proved reserves of natural gas, worldwide, were 185 trillion cubic meters at the end of 2008, which works out to 167 billion tons of oil equivalent. Proved reserves of oil, worldwide, were about 171 billion tons. On a global level, then, oil and gas reserves are of approximately the same size (in thermal output).

If global gas reserves do increase by anything close to 50%, this is a very, very big deal. By comparison, the Brazilian offshore discoveries, which also caused quite a stir, are thought likely to increase reserves by something in the tens of billions of barrels. 10 billion barrels of oil is less than 1% of world oil reserves.

If it does turn out that we have much more gas than we thought, globally, that is very good news on several fronts. First, of course, is that there is simply more energy. But if we are going to get a bonus in one of oil, coal, or gas, gas is definitely the best. Since natural gas is mostly methane, which is one fifth carbon and four fifths hydrogen, while oil is about one third carbon and coal is mostly carbon, gas combustion produces far more water and far less carbon dioxide than burning oil or coal. Further, gas power plants can be started and stopped more quickly than coal or oil plants, and hence complement solar and wind energy more effectively. Finally, there are serious concerns about the future world food supply, and nitrogen fertilizer is manufactured from natural gas.

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There are two new reference pages up in draft form: Unconventional gas background and US natural gas reserves. More details and future updates can be found on those pages.

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