What is fracking and why is it controversial? Drilling companies suggest trillions of cubic feet of shale gas may be recoverable from underneath parts of the UK through a process known as "fracking". Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock. But how does it work and why is it controversial? What is fracking? Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside. Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well. The process can be carried out vertically or, more commonly, by drilling horizontally to the rock layer and can create new pathways to release gas or can be used to extend existing channels. The term fracking refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the high pressure mixture. Is fracking taking place in the UK? No. Applications have also been submitted in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. Image copyright Reuters
Climate change Climate change is a change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns when that change lasts for an extended period of time (i.e., decades to millions of years). Climate change may refer to a change in average weather conditions, or in the time variation of weather around longer-term average conditions (i.e., more or fewer extreme weather events). Climate change is caused by factors such as biotic processes, variations in solar radiation received by Earth, plate tectonics, and volcanic eruptions. Certain human activities have also been identified as significant causes of recent climate change, often referred to as "global warming".[1] §Terminology The most general definition of climate change is a change in the statistical properties of the climate system when considered over long periods of time, regardless of cause.[2] Accordingly, fluctuations over periods shorter than a few decades, such as El Niño, do not represent climate change. §Causes §Internal forcing mechanisms §Life
Shale oil and shale gas resources are globally abundant June 10, 2013 Source: U.S. basins from U.S. Energy Information Administration and United States Geological Survey; other basins from Advanced Resources International (ARI) based on data from various published studies.Note: Click to enlarge. Republished June 14 at 10:56 to correct an error in Table 2. Estimated shale oil and shale gas resources in the United States and in 137 shale formations in 41 other countries represent 10% of the world's crude oil and 32% of the world's natural gas technically recoverable resources, or those that can be produced using current technology without reference to economic profitability, according to a new EIA-sponsored study (see Table 1) released today (June 10, 2013). More than half of the identified shale oil resources outside the United States are concentrated in four countries—Russia, China, Argentina, and Libya—while more than half of the non-U.S. shale gas resources are concentrated in five countries—China, Argentina, Algeria, Canada, and Mexico.
Fracking's Latest Scandal? Earthquake Swarms At exactly 10:53 p.m. on Saturday, November 5, 2011, Joe and Mary Reneau were in the bedroom of their whitewashed and brick-trimmed home, a two-story rambler Mary's dad custom-built 43 years ago. Their property encompasses 440 acres of rolling grasslands in Prague, Oklahoma (population 2,400), located 50 miles east of Oklahoma City. When I arrive at their ranch almost a year later on a bright fall morning, Joe is wearing a short-sleeve shirt and jeans held up by navy blue suspenders, and is wedged into a metal chair on his front stoop sipping black coffee from a heavy mug. His German shepherd, Shotzie, is curled at his feet. Joe greets me with a crushing handshake—he is 200 pounds, silver-haired and 6 feet tall, with thick forearms and meaty hands—and invites me inside. He served in Vietnam, did two tours totaling nine years with the Defense Intelligence Agency, and then, in 1984, retired a lieutenant colonel from the US Army to sell real estate and raise cattle.
Potential Health and Environmental Effects of Hydrofracking in the Williston Basin, Montana Author: Joe Hoffman This case study is part of a collection of pages developed by students in the 2012 introductory-level Geology and Human Health course in the Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University. Learn more about this project. Hydrofracking is a controversial oil and gas extraction technique developed in the late 1940s to gain access to fossil energy deposits previously inaccessible to drilling operations. The process, "hydraulic fracturing", literally involves the smashing of rock with millions of gallons of water–along with sand and a undisclosed assortment of chemicals in order to bring gas to the surface. The 2005 Energy Policy Act exempted fracking from the Safe Drinking Water Act–this regulatory exclusion is often referred to as the "Halliburton Loophole." Montana fracking is still in the early stages of development compared to other states and has been described by a Texas oil company as "the best kept secret in oil and gas." How Fracking Works Impacts of Fracking
Hydraulic Fracturing water shed council After a well is fracked, 25-75% of the fluid is returned to the surface along with the oil or gas. The rest of the fluids remain underground. Used fracturing fluids that return to the surface are referred to as flowback. Most of the flowback returns to the surface in the first seven to ten days while the rest can occur over a three to four week time period. Production Wells are completed for production if the value of the recoverable oil and natural gas is greater than the cost of drilling, producing, and delivery to market. The water recovered along with the oil or gas is called produced water. Produced water generally does not have the chemicals added as fracking fluid during the hydraulic fracturing process. Plugging and Site Reclamation Wells no longer producing economically or wells that did not produce oil or gas must be plugged. This video from the Michigan Oil & Gas Producers Education Foundation (MOGPEF) illustrates the well construction and hydraulic fracturing process.
4 Scary New Finds About Fracking This Week Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com/Steve Collender December 6, 2012 | Like this article? Join our email list: Stay up to date with the latest headlines via email. This article was published in partnership with GlobalPossibilities.org. Faculty and staff at the Community College of Philadelphia want their institution to “severe all ties to the Marcellus Shale Coalition and the gas fracking industry.” The pushback is a welcome development because it’s not often that fracking is followed by much good news. 1. By now you likely know that most states (and the federal government) don’t require companies that frack oil and gas wells to disclose the multitude of chemicals in the toxic slurry that gets pumped underground. The problem? Few people outside Nabors, the largest onshore drilling contractor by revenue, know exactly what’s in that blend. 2. “Williams said when he looked up to see what the commotion was, the truck's rear end was in the air,” the Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register reported.
Peak oil A 1956 world oil production distribution, showing historical data and future production, proposed by M. King Hubbert; it has a peak of 12.5 billion barrels per year about the year 2000 Historical US crude oil production showing initial similarity to a Hubbert curve Peak oil, an event based on M. King Hubbert's theory, is the point in time when the maximum rate of petroleum extraction is reached, after which the rate of production is expected to enter terminal decline.[1] Peak oil theory is based on the observed rise, peak, (sometimes rapid) fall, and depletion of aggregate production rate in oil fields over time. Some observers, such as petroleum industry experts Kenneth S. Optimistic[2] estimations of peak production forecast the global decline will begin after 2020, and assume major investments in alternatives will occur before a crisis, without requiring major changes in the lifestyle of heavily oil-consuming nations. Peak theory[edit] Demand for oil[edit] Population[edit] Reserves[edit]
CONFIRMED - Link Between Fracking and Earthquakes By. John C.K. Daly of Oilprice.com On 5 November 2011 an earthquake measuring 5.6 rattled Oklahoma and was felt as far away as Illinois. Until two years ago Oklahoma typically had about 50 earthquakes a year, but in 2010, 1,047 quakes shook the state. Why? In Lincoln County, where most of this past weekend’s seismic incidents were centered, there are 181 injection wells, according to Matt Skinner, an official from the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the agency which oversees oil and gas production in the state. Cause and effect? The practice of injecting water into deep rock formations causes earthquakes, both the U.S. The U.S. natural gas industry pumps a mixture of water and assorted chemicals deep underground to shatter sediment layers containing natural gas, a process called hydraulic fracturing, known more informally as “fracking.” According to the U.S. Why was the process halted? According to the USGS website, under the undated heading, “Can we cause earthquakes?
Shale gas by country - Wikipedia Shale gas is natural gas produced from shale, a type of sedimentary rock. Shale gas has become an increasingly important source of natural gas in the United States over the past decade, and interest has spread to potential gas shales in Canada, Europe, Asia, and Australia. One analyst expects shale gas to supply as much as half the natural gas production in North America by 2020.[1] In a 2013 report, the US Energy Information Administration estimated the quantity of technically recoverable shale gas for 41 countries.[2][3] North America leads the worldwide production of shale gas, with the US and Canada having significant levels.[4] Beyond the US and Canada, shale gas is so far produced at a commercial scale only in Argentina and China. Shale gas production has been blocked in many countries largely because of the environmental risks involved. Africa[edit] South Africa[edit] Map Showing Operator Permits in the Karoo Basin, South Africa Americas[edit] Argentina[edit] Canada[edit] Mexico[edit]
Shale Gas in Europe Archives - Shale Gas : Shale Gas Shale Gas and EU Energy Security 11 December 2014 The European Parliamentary Research Service’s report Shale Gas and EU Energy Security aims to advise MEPs of... Read more Shale gas in Europe position paper 13 November 2014 International Association of Oil & Gas Producers’s (IOGP) position paper on Shale gas in Europe suggests that... Reducing European Dependence on Russian Gas: Distinguishing natural gas security from geopolitics 27 October 2014 The Oxford Institute for Energy Studies has published “Reducing European Dependence on Russian Gas: Distinguishing natural gas... Midland Valley of Scotland Shale Study – British Geological Survey (June 2014) The British Geological Survey, commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change, has studied the... European Energy Security Strategy – European Commission (May 2014) The European Energy Security Strategy together with an in-depth study of Member States’ energy dependence seeks to ensure that security...