Global Shale Energy Resources

Global Shale Energy Resources

The U.S. has been leading the commercial production of shale energy resources on a global basis for over a decade, but it is not the only country with significant shale resources. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration's World Shale Resources Assessment countries including Argentina, Algeria, and China all potentially have more shale gas than the United States, and Russia has nearly as much tight oil. Given the American transformation of unlocking shale resources, there’s plenty of motivation for these and other countries to produce their own domestic resources.

The shale gas resources assessed in the EIA’s world assessment add approximately 47 percent to the 15,583 trillion cubic feet of proved and unproven non-shale technically recoverable natural gas resources. Globally, 32 percent of the total estimated natural gas resources are in shale formations, while 10 percent of estimated oil resources are in shale or tight formations.

The map below shows the countries that have been assessed for their shale energy resources while the table lists the top ten countries with shale gas and oil resources.

Figure 12.3: Map of Global Resources

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Figure 12.4: Top ten global shale oil and gas resource countries

Click for a text description of Figure 12.4

Total of 7,299 TCF of shale gas out of 22,882 TCF of natural gas that is technically recoverable

Rank	Country	Shale gas (trillion cubic ft)
1	China	1,115
2	Argentina	802
3	Algeria	707
4	U.S.*	665 (1,161)
5	Canada	573
6	Mexico	545
7	Australia	437
8	South Africa	390
9	Russia	285
10	Brazil	245
--	World Total	7,299 (7,795)

 *EIA estimates used for ranking order. ARI estimates in parentheses

Total of 345 BBBLs of shale oil out of 3,357 BBBLs of oil that is technically recoverable

Rank	Country	Shale oil (billion barrels)
1	Russia	75
2	U.S**	58 (48)
3	China	32
4	Argentina	27
5	Libya	26
6	Australia	18
7	Venezuela	13
8	Mexico	13
9	Pakistan	9
10	Canada	9
----	World Total	345 (335)

 *EIA estimates used for ranking order. ARI estimates in parentheses

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

According to the EIA, global natural gas production is projected to increase from 342 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2015 to 554 Bcf/d by 2040 with the largest component of this growth is natural gas production from shale resources, which grows from 42 Bcf/d in 2015 to 168 Bcf/d by 2040. The chart below shows that shale gas is expected to account for 30% of world natural gas production by the end of the forecast period.

Figure 12.5: Graph world natural gas production by type (2010-40)

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

While only a few countries currently have some commercial production of shale energy resources, the number of countries and regions is expected to rise as shown in the two charts below.

Figure 12.6: Type of estimated natural gas and crude oil production in four countries, 2014

Click for a text description of Figure 12.6.

Estimated Natural Gas production, 2014 (billion cubic feet per day) approximate numbers

Country	Non-shale Gas	Shale Gas
China	12	.25
Canada	12	3
United States	33	37

Estimated Crude Oil Production, 2014 (Million barrels per day) approximate numbers

Country	Non-Tight Oil	Tight OIl
Argentina	.75	.02
Canada	3.8	.3
United States	4.75	4

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

Figure 12.7: Shale gas and other natural gas production in selected countries, 2015 and 2040

Click for a text description of Figure 12.7.

Shale gas and other natural gas production in selected countries, 2015 - 20140 (billion cubic feet per day) approximate numbers

Country	Shale Gas 2015	Shale Gas 2040	Other Gas 2015	Other Gas 2040
United States	39	34	80	35
China	1	16	30	19
Mexico	0	5	12	2
Algeria	0	7	6	15
Argentina	0	3	6	2

Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)

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