On June 10-11, 2014 the first international conference on – World Experience of Shale Oil and Gas Industry and Prospects of Development in Georgia was held in the hotel Radisson Blu, Batumi, Georgia.

The conference was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, USAID, Georgian Oil and Gas Corporation, the State Oil and Gas Agency, Georgian Universities, the Estonian Ministry of Energy, International Energy Agency, other international organizations and companies.

World Experience for Georgia (WEG) was presented by Archil Magalashvili who spoke on Results of Preliminary Study of Shale Gas and Shale Oil Perspectives in Georgia and by Murman Margvelashvili, who spoke on the Challenges of shale gas (SG) development for Georgia.

Mr. Magalashvili’s presentation was dedicated to the results of 2010WEG/Hydrodynamics Co (USA) joint study which had revealed several possible Gas Shale formations in Georgia’s onshore and offshore territory.

Mr.Margvelashvili spoke about the importance of shale gas for Georgia’s energy security and independence, and discussed a conglomerate of complex economic, political technological and environmental issues to be addressed.Developing the SG requires: Commitment and persistent support from the State; Coping with public opinion and environmental concerns; Attraction of investment and modern technologies. This is a long and winding road of development and a proper strategy needs to be elaborated first.

The recommendations of WEG included also the topics of gas storage, market reform, development of sound country energy strategy and improvement of investment climate through harmonization with the EU Energy Acquis.