Ukraine Gets Ready to Tap Shale Gas

Susan Phillips

Recent Stories

Susan Phillips tells stories about the consequences of political decisions on people's every day lives. She has worked as a reporter for WHYY since 2004. Susan's coverage of the 2008 Presidential election resulted in a story on the front page of the New York Times. In 2010 she traveled to Haiti to cover the earthquake. That same year she produced an award-winning series on Pennsylvania's natural gas rush called "The Shale Game." She received a 2013 Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Journalism Award for her work covering natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. She has also won several Edward R. Murrow awards for her work with StateImpact. In 2013/14 she spent a year at MIT as a Knight Science Journalism Fellow. She has also been a Metcalf Fellow, an MBL Logan Science Journalism Fellow and reported from Marrakech on the 2016 climate talks as an International Reporting Project Fellow. A graduate of Columbia School of Journalism, she earned her Bachelor's degree in International Relations from George Washington University.

August 24, 2011 | 11:00 AM

Ukraine’s energy minister announced plans to auction off rights to drill for natural gas in the country’s untapped shale deposit. Ukraine has an estimated 88 trillion cubic feet of recoverable shale gas. A new report by the U.S.G.S says the Marcellus Shale could yield 84 trillion cubic feet of gas.
From the UPI:

U.S. supermajor Exxon Mobil signed a preliminary deal with Naftogaz early this year and Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Boiko said he was expecting shale gas auctions soon.

Ukrainian officials say the shale gas could begin to be tapped as early as next year. Ukraine has always depended on Russia for its supply of natural gas. Officials hope the shale gas deposits will help boost their energy independence.