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Algeria will wait until 2020 before it explores the country's听shale gas reserves, the state's news agency Algeria Press Service reported Wednesday.
The Agency reported that the Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal听said that under the instruction of President of the Republic Abdelaziz Bouteflika, the deadlines for studies will be 2020 to better understand the gas potential听and to conduct听estimates of the underground shale gas reserves.
鈥淲e are not at the听stage for听shale gas exploitation. It is not on the agenda of the government,鈥� said Sellal.听
Algeria ranks third in the world's technical-recoverable shale gas resources with around 20 trillion cubic meters听(707 cubic feet),听according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
"The country has drilled one well in the southern region of the country, and the second well is going to be drilled," the prime minister announced, and added that听the drillings are just "experimental", as conventional hydrocarbon resources are sufficient to meet the country's needs until 2037.
Immediately听after the wells were drilled in Algeria several weeks ago, protests over environmental concerns听erupted in the nearby city of Salah. The protests then expanded to neighboring听cities where protesters claimed that听shale gas extraction threatens the underground water supply.听
Shale gas extraction uses a method called "hydraulic fracturing" or "fracking" which means that听pressurized water and additional chemicals are听pumped into the well to fracture the source rock. Environmentalists say the process could cause many environmental issues, such as contamination of the underground water supply and the creation of听small听scale听earthquakes. 听
By Nihan Cabbaroglu
Anadolu Agency
nihan.cabbarglu@aa.com.tr
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