GLOBAL PROGRESS IN EXPLORATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF UNCONVETIONAL HYDROCARBONS AND ASSESSMENT OF RESOURCES POTENTIAL

Unconventional hydrocarbons occupy an enormous proportion in the world energy budget nowadays. Both the progress in exploration and development of them as well as resources assessment results are the major factors to determine the future pattern of the world energy market. Although there are problems and difficulties, opportunities always coexist together with challenges. So far, the evaluation method of shale oil and gas has become matured, while the development of coalbed methane is rapidly driven by both demand and technology. The contribution of tight oil and gas reservoirs is increasingly prominent. For the timebeing, unconventional hydrocarbons in North America is dominated by shale gas and tight reservoirs, and the exploration and development of them are growing rapidly. In the Asia-Pacific region, shale gas projects in China and coalbed methane projects in Australia are developed in full swing and can be considered successful examples. The Europe has also started its ice-breaking travel, eventhough the European environmental and social impacts will greatly restrict local development of shale oil and gas in Europe. Meanwhile, other regions and countries such as Brazil and Argentina in South America are also having hot spots. Although the technology in exploration and development has been gradually optimized and put into practice worldwide, technological levels and geological conditions still vary considerabley in different countries. In particular, many problems such as economic evaluation, ecological environment evaluation, social impact evaluation and standardized operations, urgently need more concerns from various countries all over the world. Among issues that should be paid attention to presently are atmospheric pollution, water scarcity and pollution, wastewater treatment and utilization, possible land subsidence, environmental ecology, and social impacts of local communities.