Defying the polls, Donald Trump was elected last Tuesday as the new president of the United States. His return to the White House, starting next January, could favor shale gas, the production of which is strongly criticized by environmental defenders. During the election campaign, the Republican candidate promised Americans that they were going to “drill like crazy!” “, if he returned to power.
While all the polls showed him losing by a narrow margin, Donald Trump largely won the American presidential election on Tuesday, November 5. He won 295 electors (while at least 270 are needed), compared to 226 for Kamala Harris. The Republican candidate thus becomes the 47th president of the United States, after having been the 45th between 2016 and 2020.
Donald Trump wants to “end the great green scam”
His return to the White House, starting next January, will undoubtedly be accompanied by major changes in American policy. Particularly in terms of energy. Known to be a major climate skeptic, the American leader had already promised that in the event of re-election, he would “quickly put an end to the great green scam”, in reference to the policy of financing the energy transition initiated by the Biden administration.
Donald Trump is therefore expected to strongly support the development of fossil fuels, including shale oil and gas. In mid-September, during a meeting in Pennsylvania, the future tenant of the White House attacked his opponent on hydraulic fracturing. He warned his supporters that Kamala Harris would eliminate this practice in the state if she won the election.
Hydraulic fracturing and shale gas
Pennsylvania is the main producer of shale gas in the United States, notably with the Marcellus basin. In 2022, 48% of residents in this state said they were in favor of fracking, according to a poll from the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion. Better still, 86% of those surveyed said that the shale gas industry was positive for the American economy.
As a reminder, hydraulic fracturing is a technique used by the oil and gas industry for the extraction of shale gas. It consists of fracturing compact sedimentary geological formations impregnated with hydrocarbons by injecting a fluid under high pressure. This maneuver makes it possible to keep the faults open to extract shale gas and oil.
US shale gas production steadily increasing in recent years
Although used for almost 70 years, hydraulic fracturing only really took off in the 2000s with the development of new technologies and drilling techniques. In 2015, nearly 300,000 natural gas wells were exploited, compared to around 26,000 in the early 2000s. It is estimated that less than 7% of US gas production was extracted in this way.
American shale gas production reached nearly 28,000 billion cubic meters in 2021, compared to 1,293 billion in 2007. This represents an increase of more than 2,000% over the period. This growth then stabilized after 2018, around 2 to 8%. This year, production is heading towards a decline. U.S. shale gas production declined slightly in the first nine months of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, according to recently released figures from the Energy Information Administration.
“Drill, baby, drill,” says Donald Trump
The election of Trump should allow shale gas to recover. The new president sent a very clear message on this subject by telling his supporters: “we are going to drill like crazy!” “. In another style, he shouted: “drill, baby, drill.” Obviously, the American billionaire's plans for shale gas do not please environmental defenders. They point to the disastrous consequences of hydraulic fracturing, including water and soil pollution, greenhouse gas emissions and local earthquakes.
