Abstract
The chapter explores the main problems associated with the use of hydraulic fracturing for the production of shale gas in Ukraine. Special attention is paid to water issues. A detailed SWOT-analysis of the problem was carried out. Territorial distribution of water resources is uneven and unfortunately does not match the regions of greatest energy or mineral abundance. The smallest amount of water is found in places of concentration of powerful industrial consumers – the Donbass, Kryvorizhzhya, and the southern region of Ukraine. Areas of potential shale gas coincide with the areas of the smallest available water resources and areas with the greatest density of population. Experience elsewhere and the now well-known specifics of the hydraulic fracturing process allows us to identify potential threats to the environmental security of the country: pollution of clean groundwater and surface waters of Ukraine; utilization of large quantities of fresh water in the Yuzhivska and Oleska basins, especially in densely populated regions; degradation of large natural areas; emissions of greenhouse gases exacerbating climate change; the occurrence of seismic phenomena; and the degradation of natural landscapes.
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- 1.
As King points out in his chapter on Russian unconventional energy production (this volume), Soviet-era industrialization depended on extensive exploitation of cheap energy with little concern for efficiency or environmental impact.
- 2.
This information is based on generalized data on the geological structure of the region and typical indicators of shale gas and/or other rocks that contain natural gas. The real assessment of stocks can be ascertained only with detailed geological research and above all based on the results of the exploratory drilling and testing of the geological material samples (Kalynynchenko et al. 2013).
- 3.
Some analysts even suggest that one of the causes of the war in eastern Ukraine was a Russian desire to prevent Ukrainian production from threatening its market dominance in Europe: “In Russia’s silent shale gas victory in Ukraine, the Russian-backed rebels fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions ensured that at least for the near future, Ukraine’s shale gas potential will not be able to challenge Gazprom’s gas monopoly in the region.” (Batkov 2015)
- 4.
Compared with conventional oil and gas which typically require huge capital investment in the start-up phase, after which operating capital becomes dominant.
- 5.
Though, as we see in other chapters in this volume, many European countries contain regions of water scarcity, such as the UK’s east and southeastern regions.
- 6.
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Mitryasova, O., Pohrebennyk, V., Staddon, C. (2020). The Political Ecology of Shale Gas Exploitation in Ukraine. In: Buono, R., López Gunn, E., McKay, J., Staddon, C. (eds) Regulating Water Security in Unconventional Oil and Gas. Water Security in a New World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-18342-4_10
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