Fracking is a novel but contested energy technology – so what makes some countries embrace it whilst others reject it? This book argues that the reason for policy divergence lies in procedures and processes, stakeholder inclusion and whether a strong narrative underpins governmental policies. Based on a large set of primary data gathered in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, it explores shale gas policies in Central Eastern Europe (a region strongly dependent on Russian gas imports) to unveil the importance of policy regimes for creating a 'social license' for fracking. Its findings suggest that technology transfer does not happen in a vacuum but is subject to close mutual interaction with political, economic and social forces; and that national energy policy is not a matter of 'objective' policy imperatives, such as Russian import dependence, but a function of complex domestic dynamics pertaining to institutional procedures and processes, and winners and losers.

Climate and Energy Politics in Poland: Debating Carbon Dioxide and Shale Gas presents a new, object-oriented perspective on the challenge faced by Poland, the largest post-socialist EU member state from Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), to produce knowledge about its energy system in the context of climate change. Drawing on data from five different research projects and two hundred interviews, Lis reflects on how EU accession forced Poland to mobilize their resources and produce expertise on carbon dioxide and shale gas, in order to actively participate in the debates around EU climate change ambitions and goals. A significant lack of capacity and expert institutions made it difficult for Poland to quickly assess the impacts of EU legislation or to propose new solutions for itself, and it is precisely this struggle for knowledge production that will be examined during the course of the book. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy and resource politics, climate change, EU environmental policy and CEE studies more broadly.

This book discusses the economic, political, and environmental issues surrounding the international exploration and exploitation of conventional and unconventional natural gas. Shale gas development in recent years has changed the energy discussion in the US as existing reserves of natural gas coupled with horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing make exploitation of these reserves economically feasible; the discussion is quickly becoming international in scope. The potential expansion of natural gas development impacts many regions of the globe and spans multiple perspectives. In a volatile international climate, one of intense geopolitical conflict between Russia and the West, economic slowdowns in Europe and China, military conflicts in the Middle East and northern Africa, and widening income disparity in the U.S., a relatively inexpensive and plentiful energy source like shale gas could play a key role in mitigating such conflicts. In an energy interdependent global community, however, multiple factors such as oil prices, differing rates of exploration, environmental concerns, strategic initiatives, institutional changes, legal and regulatory issues, and actions of the nations involved all have the potential to influence future outcomes. This book discusses each of these in turn, detailing the issues most prevalent in each geographical area. The first volume to provide a comprehensive global view of the impacts of shale gas development, this book fills a gap in the current research literature, providing vital information for the scholarly community and the public alike. This book will be of interest to researchers and students of economics, energy policy, public administration, and international relations as well as policy makers and residents of the regions that are experiencing shale gas development.

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: A, Brunel University, course: Public Affairs & Lobbying, language: English, abstract: The European oil & gas industry is concerned about the growing uproar and opposition against shale gas. Despite shale gas's importance and viability in North America, the potential for the development and recovery of shale gas in Europe is limited due to stricter regulation, legislation, and higher population density. There is going to be significant legal and regulatory developments relating to unconventional gas all expected in the coming years, including a possible challenge being raised against hydraulic fracturing. This case study sets out to investigate the strategic considerations and lobbying activities undertaken by the shale gas industry, and to examine opportunities and challenges for the shale gas industry to influence EU policy‐decisions. Previous attempts to lobby national and EU institutions have been rather sporadic, but there is great potential and willingness to streamline and channel expertise and information, which are critical resources for acquiring access to the EU policy process. This paper looks at the theoretical framework of strategies of EU interest representation, more specifically at the way corporate and organisational factors influence the political strategies of shale gas interest groups, and how firms' lobbying strategies need to be adapted to the complexity of the EU policy process. Resulting from this analysis, it is argued that the shale gas industry needs to form ad-‐hoc coalitions, which would allow to operate with the flexibility required in the dynamic, multi‐level and technical EU energy sector.

Studienarbeit aus dem Jahr 2011 im Fachbereich Energiewissenschaften, Note: 1,9, Universität Leipzig (Institut für Infrastruktur und Ressourcenmanagement), Veranstaltung: Energy System Modelling, Sprache: Deutsch, Abstract: In Europe, a “new” unconventional energy resource begins to be explored. The so called shale gas isn’t a new discovery, but its production has been too complex and expensive for a long time. Since rough quantities of shale gas have been exploited in North America, the global gas markets are changing. The European gas market is also affected by these changes which are characterized by an increasing gas supply and declining prices. Since Europe also has shale gas resources, the production of this unconventional gas might be attractive now. The present report investigates and evaluates the shale gas potentials in Europe. Against the background of energy policy targets like supply security and carbon emissions reduction, the option of shale gas as solution approach for these targets has to be evaluated. Although the production is meanwhile mostly profitable, active exploitation in Europe is not yet carried out because environmental concerns and the “green” lobby are countering. Nonetheless, shale gas is most likely to take a significant share of the future energy mix.

Master's Thesis from the year 2012 in the subject Politics - Topic: European Union, grade: A, Brunel University, course: Public Affairs & Lobbying, language: English, abstract: The European oil & gas industry is concerned about the growing uproar and opposition against shale gas. Despite shale gas’s importance and viability in North America, the potential for the development and recovery of shale gas in Europe is limited due to stricter regulation, legislation, and higher population density. There is going to be significant legal and regulatory developments relating to unconventional gas all expected in the coming years, including a possible challenge being raised against hydraulic fracturing. This case study sets out to investigate the strategic considerations and lobbying activities undertaken by the shale gas industry, and to examine opportunities and challenges for the shale gas industry to influence EU policy‐decisions. Previous attempts to lobby national and EU institutions have been rather sporadic, but there is great potential and willingness to streamline and channel expertise and information, which are critical resources for acquiring access to the EU policy process. This paper looks at the theoretical framework of strategies of EU interest representation, more specifically at the way corporate and organisational factors influence the political strategies of shale gas interest groups, and how firms’ lobbying strategies need to be adapted to the complexity of the EU policy process. Resulting from this analysis, it is argued that the shale gas industry needs to form ad-‐hoc coalitions, which would allow to operate with the flexibility required in the dynamic, multi‐level and technical EU energy sector.

It is obvious to everybody today that energy is a very important strategic element of the countries' economy. Continuously growing population and industrial sectors demand more and more energy for successful development disregarding the raising price for traditional energy resources what urges researchers and industry practitioners to search for unconventional alternatives. That seems to be especially crucial for emerging economies. In this light shale gas that was in recent years introduced in the US in results of successful application of fracturing technology, appears to be a promising option of reasonable scale. Being found in abundance in shale fields of Poland and Ukraine it represents a real opportunity to improve energy independence and potentially reduce carbon emission in these countries. The study includes brief overview of geological conditions and discovered reserves of the shale gas in the region, current status of energy balance and relevant legal framework along with official and industry comments on current shale gas activities and analysis of most probable market scenarios for the new energy resource followed by recommendations in a form of conclusion to consider by potential project developers.