Shale Gas as an Energy Alternative in the EU[Břidlicový plyn jako energetická alternativa EU]

Over the last few years, there have been more and more talks about shale gas as a potential competitor for a conventional natural gas. Shale deposits are spread throughout the world. The major reserves have already been confirmed in the United States, Argentina, Brazil, Australia, India, China, as well as in some European countries, especially in Poland, Sweden and Austria. Also it has begun to talk about the "shale gas revolution" which could completely change the world flows of the energy resources, its prices development and quite affect the geopolitics of many regions. Nevertheless the shale gas production is not a simple process and it brings certain problems. Some countries have already banned the application of so called hydrofracturing technology on its territories due to ecological reasons. Moreover, this technology is capital intensive and the cost of shale gas extracting usually much exceeds the cost of conventional natural gas production. The questions, which may occur, are how significant alternative the shale gas can be, whether it can disturb the position of current exporters of a natural gas and what will be geopolitical consequences?