Algeria decides to exploit shale gas

Algeria, the world\'s fourth-largest gas exporter, has decided to develop its shale gas potential as well, but experts fear this could cause severe environmental problems. Officials say the country\'s shale gas reserves are 600 trillion cubic feet, or around four times greater than its current known gas reserves. Algeria may be the world\'s eighth-largest natural gas producer in 2011, according to the BP Statistical Review of Energy, but domestic consumption is surging. Official forecasts say that, from 2019, local demand will eat up all the country\'s production. At present, 50 years after it gained independence, the country remains almost totally dependant on hydrocarbons, which account for 90 percent of its exports. So as long as it fails to diversify its export base, it has no alternative than to develop shale gas, an unconventional fossil fuel, to secure its energy future, experts say. A new hydrocarbons bill, to be introduced in parliament in the coming weeks, encourages the exploration of unconventional gas and oil resources. Chems Eddine Chitour, director of fossil energy development at Algiers\' Ecole Polytechnique, is concerned that the method used for obtaining the fuel trapped in formations of shale rock could be geologically dangerous and also put a strain on the largely desert country\'s water supplies. Times Of Oman