The United States is the foremost producer of shale gas, but new National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded research (NSF grants #1661733 and #1911289; Usha Haley, sole principal investigator) from Wichita State suggests that China’s substantial investments in U.S. shale gas producers, refiners and distributors has hindered and disrupted American innovation in the field.
The researchers gathered and analyzed data covering two decades. They found that despite more environmental regulation, Chinese-funded operations shifted away from environmentally-friendly production and led to greater methane pollution, while innovation from small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) plummeted.
More on the research is available to read online, with a PDF available to download as well.