Peter McCusker Energy & Climate

CAN the American shale gas revolution be replicated in the UK, Peter McCusker reports.  LOWER natural gas prices are having a profound effect on American industry with many of the world’s chemical majors looking to build new US facilities after decades of investing elsewhere, particularly in the Middle East. The glut of shale gas has seen America become almost self-sufficient and this, combined with a lack of export facilities, has seen the price plummet. In Europe and the UK gas is trading at around $12 per mcf (thousand cubic feet), in Asia it’s over $14 per mcf whilst in the United States it is $3 per mcf  Consequently, over a dozen chemical majors are looking to invest in new US plant and take advantage of the substantially lower feedstock costs. Even Saudi Arabian-based SABIC (Saudi Basic Industries Corp), the world’s largest petrochemical company, is in talks about possible new US plant. In the UK there is much speculation about the extent of the UK’s shale gas