COMMENT
To Frack or Not to Frack – that is Europe's question
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Not that long ago it seems as if North American PE producers, like their counterparts in Europe, were at the end of their rope as regards competitiveness. The traditional players in the global market for the most widely used standard thermoplastic were helpless, taking a back seat to upstarts in the Middle East and Asia, still wet behind the ears.
With the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of the shale gas reserves on their own vast continent, American producers have now come back fighting. Even exploiting the “new” feedstock, they are still at quite a disadvantage vis-a-vis producers in the Middle East, but they could be leagues ahead of their erstwhile Asian competitors who use naphtha. And starting the petrochemicals and plastics chain with cheap shale gas would be a much bigger advantage than using coal, as the Chinese do.
The Europeans could be the ones left holding the bag, especially as governments on this side of the Atlantic have taken a more cautious approach to fracking, in view of the not inconsiderable ecological damage it is now believed to cause. For all it is worth, US public opinion at least has turned against this method of gas extraction, especially after seeing tap water contaminated by drilling chemicals injected into the soil and even catch fire as ethane leaks out of the ground uncontrolled.
In any case, extracting shale gas as a feedstock only keeps the challenges facing PE producers at bay for a while, without really solving their problems. In no case can the US deposits compete with the vast resources of the Middle East, and the crackers now being built at home will simply replace aging units rather than being really competitive with the shiny new world-scale facilities in Asia. If things continue apace, one day all the gas will have been extracted, soil and ground water possibly polluted and it will be “back to the drawing boards.”
Europe is now at a crossroads. France has given up fracking for now, and a ban is being discussed. Drilling is taking place both in Germany’s Münsterland and in Poland. A question the EU environmental authorities would do well to face – one much bigger than the interminable discussion about banning plastic carrier bags – is, to frack or not to frack. Which path to sustainability will we take?
Daniel Stricker
With the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of the shale gas reserves on their own vast continent, American producers have now come back fighting. Even exploiting the “new” feedstock, they are still at quite a disadvantage vis-a-vis producers in the Middle East, but they could be leagues ahead of their erstwhile Asian competitors who use naphtha. And starting the petrochemicals and plastics chain with cheap shale gas would be a much bigger advantage than using coal, as the Chinese do.
The Europeans could be the ones left holding the bag, especially as governments on this side of the Atlantic have taken a more cautious approach to fracking, in view of the not inconsiderable ecological damage it is now believed to cause. For all it is worth, US public opinion at least has turned against this method of gas extraction, especially after seeing tap water contaminated by drilling chemicals injected into the soil and even catch fire as ethane leaks out of the ground uncontrolled.
In any case, extracting shale gas as a feedstock only keeps the challenges facing PE producers at bay for a while, without really solving their problems. In no case can the US deposits compete with the vast resources of the Middle East, and the crackers now being built at home will simply replace aging units rather than being really competitive with the shiny new world-scale facilities in Asia. If things continue apace, one day all the gas will have been extracted, soil and ground water possibly polluted and it will be “back to the drawing boards.”
Europe is now at a crossroads. France has given up fracking for now, and a ban is being discussed. Drilling is taking place both in Germany’s Münsterland and in Poland. A question the EU environmental authorities would do well to face – one much bigger than the interminable discussion about banning plastic carrier bags – is, to frack or not to frack. Which path to sustainability will we take?
Daniel Stricker
11.07.2011 Plasteurope.com [219688-0]
Published on 11.07.2011