PUBLIC LECTURE: Shale Gas and Fracking: Environmental Saviour or Devil Incarnate?

A public lecture by Derek Elsworth, Professor of Energy and Geo-Environmental Engineering at Pennsylvania State University & 2012 UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Professor-at-Large.

Shale gas is just one of a variety of approaches that may be taken to reduce the carbon footprint of energy use. Fuel switching to the utilization of low-carbon natural gas has proven a natural and economically driven selection. This is promoted by the new-found abundance of large gas deposits in unconventional reservoirs made accessible by recently-improved methods of recovery from these very challenging environments. However utilization requires “fracking” of the low permeability reservoirs, that by its very nature is disruptive and to related concerns for the protection of the environment.

This talk will explore the broad range of issues related to gas production from unconventional resources in the broadest possible context. This will include discussion of environmental protection, energy security and economics, all writ large, at this important nexus of environment, energy and economics.