The advocates of fracking technology, previously frowned upon due to environmental concerns, are increasing.
At the beginning of April, the EU Parliament voted in favor of stopping the supply of gas, oil and coal from Russia. It was not implemented, but a few months later all of Europe was desperately looking for alternatives to Russian energy sources. This is also the case in Austria, where even the extraction of shale gas through fracking (see grafic) is discussed again.
For example, Upper Austria’s governor Thomas Stelzer (ÖVP) recently declared that it was “irresponsible to let Austrian gas potential continue to waste away underground in the current situation”.
Eco-Fracking
The hope rests on a process developed more than ten years ago at the Montanuniversität Leoben, which is said to do without toxic chemicals. Instead, natural substances such as cornstarch are used.
According to an old estimate by OMV, there is enough gas in the Weinviertel to supply Austria for up to 30 years – other observers are far less optimistic about the recoverable reserves. “Of course you don’t know in advance,” says Herbert Hofstätter, professor at the Montanuniversität Leoben, when asked by the KURIER. This can only be assessed “if you have known the deposit for several years”, but the indication of 30 years is “afflicted with a certain uncertainty factor”.
The long-term price development also plays a role here, because the higher the market price of gas, the more it pays off to use more complex methods. In this respect, the subsidy limit is also an economic question.
No quick fix
But it would not be quick. The Leoben process has so far been used in field trials in Europe and the USA, but it is not used commercially anywhere. OMV stopped its plans for fracking in the Weinviertel in 2012 after massive resistance from the population and has repeatedly denied planning a resumption this year. The list of concerns from local residents and environmentalists ranges from polluted groundwater and soil to an increased risk of earthquakes.
Incidentally, fracking is not prohibited in Austria – unlike in many EU countries. But every well would have to go through an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). In a country where even wind turbines and high-voltage lines have been delayed for years due to approval procedures and citizens’ initiatives, the idea of being able to start a fracking project in a short time is at least daring. “Before we can start funding, we’ll be at the end of the decade,” said OMV boss Alfred Stern in the KURIER interview.
Austria wants to do without natural gas as an energy source by 2040, so the useful life would be very short. In view of the high investments required for this, it is also questionable whether it would be profitable at all. For example, a project in Poland, once a great beacon of hope for fracking gas in Europe, was buried again after test drilling, the yields were too low.
Fracking enjoys tax breaks in the US, but many extraction companies go bankrupt when energy prices fall. And since the requirements for environmental protection and employee protection are stricter in Austria than in Texas, for example, funding in this country would probably not be cheaper.
The fact that fracking is hardly practiced in Europe does not mean that we do not use shale gas. Because the technology is used in a good part of US natural gas production. And European liquefied gas imports from the USA have increased significantly since the start of the Ukraine war.