The South Korean company E1's to buy US shale liquefied gas after Indian companies reached with Washington similar agreement. The opportunity US shale gas represents for Europe, and the role a hegemonic Russia has in European gas market thanks to the divisions inside of the EU
A shale revolution is possible, and South Korea is going to demonstrate it thanks to a tight relationship with the USA.
As Platts reported on Thursday 11/8, South Korean energetic company E1 signed an agreement with US Enterprise Products Operating to buy 180 Liquefied gas' thousand of ton from 2014. The US liquefied gas is a 10% less expensive than natural liquefied gas South Korea actually imports from the Middle East.
In particular, South Korea will import the liquefied shale gas the USA started to exploit from its national fields. According to several studies, thanks to the domestic shale gas field's exploitation, the USA are going to become the first gas exporter country in the world.
In Asia, the USA are already the first gas exporter state after Washington signed contracts with India and South Korea. Moreover, in the last October, Indian companies India Oil Corporation and Oil India Limited bought stakes in Carrizo Oil and Gas Inc: a company engaged in shale exploitation in Colorado.
US shale gas export is an opportunity also from Europe. European energetic market is strongly dependent on Russian natural gas supplies, which Moscow delivers by expensive tariffs.
The presence of cheaper US gas in Europe will decrease gas prices, and the USA already declared the possibility to start exporting US liquefied shale gas in the European energetic market.
Following the US opportunity, the European Commission approved a plan of building LNG terminals, in order to take Europe read to import cheep liquefied gas from the USA.
Despite of this, several European national States, as Germany and France, thwart the European Commission initiative because of their strict relationship with Russia. Moscow is the biggest natural gas exporter, which uses gas to reach political goals in Europe and in former soviet world.
As reported by the European Voice, the European Commission contested Germany and France for stopping the realization of a common EU energetic policy by thwarting the Third Energetic Package.
The Third Energetic Package is a EU law which liberalizes the European energetic market and forbids monopolist as Russian major Gazprom to control both the gas sell and its distribution.
The US shale opportunity can really help Europe to decrease the dependence on Russia. From the political point of view, it can also foster Western countries's position in the process of the globalization by an energetic strong transatlantic cooperation.
Anyway, the fear Germany, France and other Western European States have of Russia endangers the European energetic security, and makes impossible the realization of a common transatlantic western community between the USA and the EU.
Matteo Cazzulani
