[ti:Europe Considers Fracking to Cut Dependence on Russian Gas] [ar:Mario Ritter] [al:Economics Report] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.50]this is the Economics Report. [00:05.19]The political crisis in Ukraine has forced many European nations [00:10.52]to reconsider their dependence on Russia for energy. [00:15.14]Some nations are looking at new ways to recover natural gas at home, [00:21.03]these methods include a disputed process [00:25.21]known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking. [00:29.11]The process involves the use of liquid chemicals to break rock. [00:34.69]Experts believe Europe might have trillions of cubic meters of shale gas. [00:42.71]Shale is a kind of rock. [00:45.29]France, Poland and Ukraine are thought [00:49.95]to have the largest amounts of shale gas. [00:53.06]Large supplies have been found in Romania, Bulgaria and Britain. [00:59.71]Lucia Seybert is with the the Wilson Center in Washington. [01:05.79]She says the presence of large shale gas reserves [01:09.84]and political problems in Ukraine [01:12.61]have increased interest in Europe's shale gas. [01:16.74]"With energy security it's not just a matter of supply, [01:21.59]it's also a question of reliability. [01:23.20]And one thing that this may do, [01:25.78]it may expedite some of these explorations of shale gas [01:30.69]within the European Union," Seybert said. [01:32.06]But Europe is believed to be years away from major shale gas production. [01:37.94]Poland, Britain and Romania are expected to start exploration by 2020. [01:46.80]Removing shale gas through hydraulic fracking [01:51.16]is the subject of often intense debate. [01:55.00]Most drilling areas in Europe are near populated areas [01:59.66]and environmental groups have raised concerns [02:03.72]about water and air pollution from fracking. [02:08.53]There also are political concerns. [02:11.69]Eric Stewart is the president of the Romanian-American [02:16.43]and Polish-American Business Councils. [02:19.52]He says European taxes and rules on the industry [02:24.19]make it difficult for gas removal companies. [02:27.63]Energy companies also must battle a strong environmental movement [02:33.41]and public opposition. [02:35.84]Keith Smith is a former U.S. ambassador to Lithuania. [02:41.22]He says the fracking can help Europe meet its energy needs [02:45.32]if the plan includes fossil fuels [02:48.44]and renewable sources of energy like solar and wind. [02:54.24]Much of Europe's gas flows through a pipeline [02:58.09]from Russia across Ukraine. [03:01.59]But Ukraine has had difficulty paying Russia's Gazprom energy company. [03:08.39]And earlier this year, [03:10.26]Ukrainian protesters ousted the country's pro-Russia president. [03:15.23]The new government signed economic agreements [03:19.07]with the European Union, over Russian objections. [03:23.13]Now Russia has signaled it may cut off gas to Ukraine, and to much of Europe. [03:30.98]The Wilson Center's Lucia Seybert says shale gas exploration [03:36.59]will not provide Europe complete energy independence from Russian imports, [03:42.36]but it will reduce that dependence in the long-term. [03:47.28]And that's the Economics Report from VOA Learning English. [03:52.77]I'm Mario Ritter. [03:54.69]¸ü¶àÌýÁ¦Çë·ÃÎÊ51VOA.COM