Shale oil and gas reserves – abundant and cheap energy?

Published in the National Post last week, this is probably the most important article I’ve read this year:
The New Energy Order – Gary Hunt

Here’s the Coles notes version:

• The US has enough natural gas (from newly developed shale gas) to meet its current energy demands for 575 years; these reserves are larger than those of Russia, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkmenistan combined.
• The same shale resources also contain abundant oil reserves – three times the proven reserved of Saudi Arabia (not a typo)
• Natural gas will replace coal and other fuel sources for electric generation due to its efficiency and low emissions
• Abundant natural gas will reduce US dependence on foreign oil and gas and reduce American involvement in the Middle East
• Energy prices in the future will be much lower than they are today

Some of these assertions and studies sound too good to be true; and likely they are. But even if these reports are partly  correct, we can expect to see huge changes in the energy industry and the north American economy.

Some related links:

Abundance of shale gas resources may spark manufacturing renaissance in the US, according to PwC US
http://www.pwc.com/us/en/press-releases/2011/abundance-of-shale-gas.jhtml

Review of Emerging Resources: U.S. Shale Gas and Shale Oil Plays
ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/natgas/usshaleplays.pdf