wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary-767dea32016cdc59.pdf

This executive summary from the World Resources Institute (WRI) analyzes the global availability of freshwater in relation to shale gas and tight oil development. Using geospatial analysis and the Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, the report identifies significant water stress in many regions with high technically recoverable shale resources, highlighting potential business risks and social conflicts arising from competition for water between the energy industry, agriculture, and municipal users.

• Shale gas resources significantly increase global energy reserves, adding 47 percent to the world's technically recoverable natural gas resources, while tight oil adds 11 percent to recoverable oil.
• A substantial portion of global shale resources are located in water-stressed or arid regions, which may hinder development. Specifically, 38 percent of shale resources are in areas that are arid or under high to extremely high water stress, 19 percent are in areas with high or extremely high seasonal variability, and 15 percent are in locations with high or extremely high drought severity.
• Shale development often competes with other water users, particularly in areas where irrigated agriculture is the primary water consumer, which occurs in 40 percent of shale plays. Additionally, 386 million people live on the land above these shale plays.
• Several countries with the largest technically recoverable shale gas and tight oil resources face severe water constraints. Eight of the top 20 countries for shale gas and eight of the top 20 for tight oil face arid conditions or high to extremely high baseline water stress; these include China, Mexico, South Africa, Algeria, Libya, Pakistan, Egypt, and India (with Mongolia also listed for tight oil).
• The spatial and seasonal variability of hydrological conditions creates unpredictability for companies attempting to meet freshwater demands for drilling and hydraulic fracturing, leading to potential business risks and threats to a company's social license to operate.

APA

World Resources Institute (n.d.). wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary-767dea32016cdc59.pdf. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary.pdf

Chicago

World Resources Institute. wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary-767dea32016cdc59.pdf. n.d. https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary-767dea32016cdc59.pdf |url=https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitutendwri14reportshalegasexecsummary767dea32016cdc59pdf, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{wri14\_report\_shalegas\_execsummary-767dea32016cdc59.pdf}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, url = {https://files.wri.org/d8/s3fs-public/wri14_report_shalegas_execsummary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }