THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF THE PRODUCTION OF SHALE GAS POTENTIAL: THE CASE OF TURKEY

Energy is a main input for economy. Because of an increase in other fossil fuels' prices and it's accepted as an important resource for energy supply for the countries which don't have enough oil and natural gas resources, shale gas became a current issue in the world. Technically producable shale gas in the world is about 6.621 bcm (billion cubic meter). We can say that this amount may be higher if unsought areas are added. Turkey is one of the countries which has shale gas potential. According to a report published by EIA in 2011, Turkey has approximately 424 billion cubic meter shale gas reserves. This shale gas potential can reduce Turkey's energy dependence if we think of the fact that annual natural gas consumption of Turkey is 46 bcm. Despite all, production of shale gas has not been searched in terms of it's advantages and disadvantages. The aim of this study is to present the advantages and disadvantages of shales gas for the world and Turkey. Reducing energy dependence, supporting a more clean energy than coal, balancing the oil prices are some advantages. Nevertheless, it's a fossil fuel, it's production is expensive and it gets negative social and environmental reactions.