After studying production data from 65,000 wells from 31 different unconventional shale rock formations in 2012, David Hughes predicted big trouble ahead for North America’s unconventional hydrocarbon revolution. The prominent geologist, who has studied Canada’s energy resources for four decades, warned that shale gas and tight oil operations shared four big challenges: escalating capital costs, uneven performance and a growing environmental footprint, all followed by rapid depletion. “Shale gas can continue to grow, but only at higher prices and that growth will require an ever escalating drilling treadmill with associated collateral financial and environmental costs — and its long term sustainability is highly questionable,” predicted Hughes just two years ago. Recent economic data on the industry from Bloomberg, Energy Analyst and even the International Energy Agency shows that Hughes was bang on. The tough economic news on shale, a dense rock that lies two to three kilometres underground, comes […]