Promoting Environmental Protection while Boosting Shale Gas Development in China

Abstract

Abstract Shale gas, due to its clean-burning and efficient nature, is becoming an increasingly popular and important alternative energy resource. Boosting shale gas development will gradually play a significant role in effectively improving energy structure, increasing living standards and quality, promoting energy conservation and emission reduction in China. This can provide a crucial guarantee for China to implement economic transformation strategy, developing low-carbon economy and green economy. Simultaneously, numerous concerns have been currently raised about the potentially adverse environmental impacts of shale gas development. Accordingly, reducing the possibly negative environmental impacts as much as possible in order to decrease the resistance of shale gas development is the key issue which urgently needs to be addressed. This paper conducts the study by means such as literature review, field investigation, conference communication, and presents some solutions and measures in terms of technologies and practices, HSE management, government regulation, and others, to prevent the potential negative environmental impacts of shale gas development in China. Alleviating the potential negative environmental impacts to a certain extent with rational use of these methods and measures proposed can conduce to develop shale gas resources by an environmentally friendly and sustainable way. Then, it would adde more impetus for shale gas development in China to continue to move forward. Compared with the previous common practices of resources development by "treatment after pollution", this paper focuses on intensifying environmental protection efforts while accelerating shale gas development. To enhance environmental protection when promoting shale gas development will not only help shale gas development to play a greater role in environmental protection, but also can promote China’s shale gas industry healthy and sustainable development. This study can provide good references for related government departments and enterprises which are engaged in shale gas development to develop appropriate decision-making correspondingly. That will be conducive to achieve the harmonious development of shale gas development and environmental protection.