The economic, social and environmental impact of shale gas exploitation in Romania: A cost-benefit analysis

Abstract

Romania has recently begun the exploration of shale gas reserves and, it is expected that these unconventional resources to be exploited by hydraulic fracturing. The use of this technology is controversial in high-populated areas, where the economic, social and especially the environmental impact is practically unknown. However, for the public opinion, the shale gas exploitation is presented as an operation triggering no major risks. Therefore, several agreements were concluded between the Romanian authorities and the major players in the exploitation field. Against this background, our paper shows that the shale gas exploitation has no real benefits for the Romanian citizens. More precisely, we conduct an exhaustive cost-benefit analysis, considering the economic, social and environmental consequences of the shale gas exploitation, and we show that in the long run, the costs considerably overlap the benefits. The use of hydraulic fracturing procedure, which implies huge costs with the water consumption and wastewater treatment, influences the outcome of our investigation. These findings are sustained by the sensitivity analysis we have performed.