Australia Begins Shale Production
From UPI
ADELAIDE, Australia, Oct. 22 (UPI) — Australian oil and gas company Santos Ltd. has launched the country’s first commercial shale gas well in the Cooper Basin in South Australia.
South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill, who turned on the tap on the Moomba-191 well Friday, called it a “game changer” for Australia’s economy, noting the affect shale gas has had on the U.S. economy over the past five years, where shale accounts for more than half of total natural gas production.
“Unconventional gas has always been regarded as something that would happen in the future but today’s opening demonstrates that that future has arrived,” Weatherill said in a statement.
“The U.S. economy has been transformed by the exploitation of the massive shale gas reserves, which has also led to the re-emergence of their advanced manufacturing sector.”
Weatherill says the connection would lead to natural gas from unconventional sources being increasingly used in households across South Australia and eastern Australia.
