Strategic issues - European Union

Conventional natural gas is trapped in reservoirs underground whereas shale gas is trapped inside rocks that need to be broken open to release the gas. Experience in Europe has to date been focused essentially on low volume hydraulic fracturing in some conventional and tight gas reservoirs, mostly in vertical wells, constituting only a small part of past EU oil and gas operations. There is limited experience to date in the EU of high-volume hydraulic fracturing on a large scale and at high intensity. The key factor in this development has been a high and increasing demand for wildlife products, most notably across Asia, particularly in ivory with China the major destination, rhino horn primarily for the Vietnamese market, tiger products, tropical timber and shark fins, which are among the most valuable wildlife products found on the black market, but many other species are also concerned, including reptiles, birds and pangolins. This has resulted in a sharp increase in price.