Developing Natural Gas From Shale

Chevron in Europe
Chevron has been a key energy provider in Europe since the 1960s and currently produces about 159,000 barrels of oil and gas equivalent, mostly from North Sea fields in the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Netherlands and Norway. The company explores constantly for new resources and has made significant recent discoveries in the deep waters west of the Shetland Islands. More recently, Chevron has acquired exploration acreage in Eastern Europe offering prospects for production of natural gas located in deep shale beds. Chevron employs about 1,000 people in its European oil and gas business.

The Value of Natural Gas to Europe

Shale gas development could improve Europes energy independence, generate new revenue for landowners and governments, create jobs and stimulate economic growth benefits being widely realised from shale projects in the United States. Europe today imports about 60 percent of its gas (source: International Energy Agency). This is estimated to grow to 83 percent by 2030, due to increasing demand, stronger environmental laws and declining production from established gas fields.

BALTIC SEA

RUSSIA

LITHUANIA RUSSIA

BELARUS POLAND Warsaw

Grabowiec Krasnik Frampol Zwierzyniec

GERMANY

A Growing Source of Natural Gas

The gas naturally occurring in shale rock is no different to any other natural gas, except that it is trapped in tight rock layers and requires different development methods compared to traditional gas fields. Natural gas, an abundant fossil fuel, has been produced in Europe for decades and is used widely in homes, industry and power generation. Natural gas is an efficient, versatile fuel with significantly lower emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases compared to coal.

CZECH REPUBLIC

UKRAINE SLOVAKIA MOLDOVA HUNGARY

Barlad Block

AUSTRIA SLOVENIA CROATIA

ROMANIA Bucharest SERBIA BULGARIA Sofia

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BOSNIAHERZEGOVINA

ADRIATIC MONTENEGRO KOSOVO SEA ITALY FYROM

BLACK SEA

ALBANIA

GREECE

Chevron Interests

European Shale Exploration With Chevron

Chevron is exploring more than 4 million acres under recent and pending agreements with the governments of Poland, Romania and Bulgaria. If commercial quantities of gas are confirmed in these shales, Chevron will seek permission to develop long-term, production opportunities. The exploration process is similar to conventional oil and gas prospecting. After being awarded licences or leases, Chevron gains permission for land access from governments and landowners. A period of data gathering, usually over several years, follows. This helps to build an understanding of the subsurface characteristics. One method, seismic surveying, uses sound waves to map potentially gas-rich areas deep underground. Portable rigs test targets by drilling wells into the shale beds, which are up to 100 metres thick and typically more than 2,500 metres below the ground.

Protecting Water
Chevron protects groundwater aquifers from fracturing fluids and gas by lining or casing wells with multiple layers of steel and cement. Pressure tested for strength, the liners last the life of the well. Hydraulic fracturing fluids are typically utilized at depths of 2 to 3 kilometre or more below groundwater aquifers, separated from them by multiple layers of impermeable rock. After fracturing shale wells, flowback wastewater is either properly disposed of at a certified waste facility, treated and reused or, in some cases, re-injected in deeper rock layers. Chevron is an industry leader for employing the highest safety and environmental standards. Our work is governed by a rigorous Operational Excellence Management System, and we conduct comprehensive environmental, social and health impact assessments, which ensure that we build and maintain good relations with communities.

Chevrons North America Shale Business

Chevron produces gas from shale in the eastern United States and is growing its production in this key region. The company is also conducting a major shale exploration program in Canada. Chevrons Energy Technology Company and North America business units support the companys European shale exploration activities with shale development expertise and experience. U.S. shale gas output has grown rapidly in the past decade. Shale sources have grown from three percent to provide about 25 percent of the countrys production and could reach 50 percent by 2035 (source: U.S. Energy Information Administration).

A Global Energy Leader

In business more than 130 years, Chevron is a major global energy company, producing more than 2.7 million net barrels of oil and equivalent gas per day from operations on six continents. The company is investing more than $25 billion worldwide developing new projects in 2011. Chevron also manufactures and sells about 1.8 million barrels of transportation fuels per day worldwide under the Caltex, Texaco and Chevron brands. The company has about 58,000 employees.

Hydraulic Fracturing
Development requires hydraulic fracturing, an established, safe and well-proven technology used in more than 1 million wells since the 1960s. The process involves pumping a fracturing mix of water, sand and small amounts of additives down a well and out through holes in the steel liner, creating sandfilled cracks to encourage gas to flow (additives are the same as those used in conventional operations and highly regulated in EU member states). First, discoveries are evaluated by fracturing small test zones in vertical wells and monitoring gas flow. If full development is warranted, companies drill horizontal wells through the gas-bearing rock, and fracture the shale along the entire horizontal leg.
Chevron Polska Energy Resources Sp.zo.o Catalina Building, Aleja Wyscigowa 6 02-681 Waszawa, Poland Tel: (+48) 22460 1003

Safety, Values and Partnership

Chevron seeks to be the global energy company most admired for its people, partnership and performance. The safety of employees, workers and the public is our highest priority. The company conducts business in a socially responsible and ethical manner, respecting the law, supporting universal human rights and protecting the environment. Chevron supports health, culture, the environment, education, economic development and other priorities in communities near our operations throughout the world.

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