What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment?

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment? Nathan Anderson Salt Lake Community College

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment?

Hydraulic Fracturing has given drillers access to large supplies of unconventional natural gas. The result is a price drop of heating and electricity for consumers in the United States, a boost for the economy. The Hydraulic fracturing we know of today was refined in the late 80s with tax incentives. The process included an older form of fracturing and the newer horizontal form of drilling to access the natural gas trapped in tight shale formations deep below the surface. Environmentalists and supporters for drilling debate on how safe it is for the environment. Environmentalists say hydraulic fracturing is linked to aquifer contamination, releases of harmful greenhouse gases, and earthquakes. Drilling supporters focus on the comparison of other fossil fuels saying it is a cleaner form of energy and the environmental effects of the hydraulic fracturing process are marginal or non-existent if drilled correctly. Fracturing or fracking first began a little over 60 years ago in 1947. Fracturing is a form of drilling that access oils and gases stuck in shale or other rocks. Before fracturing, drillers had to drill to pockets of natural gas. These pockets were literally a pool of gas trapped in a hollow space between layers of shale rock. These pools of gas are generally found at peeks or breaks in layers of shale. The gas in the shale seeps into these pools slowly, fracturings goal is to speed up the process. A drilling location is chosen where shale rock can be accessed. Some locations use old wells and drilling sites some are new. Shale rock is typically around a mile underneath the surface. The first drilling holes are made to protect an aquifer if present. The drillers drill past the aquifer and lay in metal pipes. Cement is then laid in to incase the pipe to prevent leaking, a process called casing. After the cement sets the next process in drilling can continue. They drill down to the desired depth to access shale rock. The older forms of fracturing stopped drilling deeper here. A second set of pipes were installed and another round of casing was pumped in to incase the final production pipe.

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment? The first exploration in fracturing included explosives and other methods to free the gas from the surrounding shale with little effect. An idea of hydraulically fracturing the surrounding shale and rock started. Holes were drilled or shot into the pipes at the desired depths. The hydraulic fracturing process would begin by pumping slurries of water, sand, or ceramic balls into the pipe at great pressures. Lubricating oils and other trace chemicals are also added to improve the output of gas from the shale rock and increasing the functionality of equipment. By pumping this slurry into the pipe it

would flow into the shale at the great pressure and split and fracture the surrounding shale. The sand or ceramic balls in the slurry help keep these fractures open. They then start pumping the slurry mix out of the pipe and if all went well the gas will flow out after it. They connect the pipe to a pipeline to be transported to refineries and then the consumers. The new method that has been added to hydraulic fracturing is called horizontal drilling. Horizontal drilling and fracturing technologies were essentially developed together, spurred by tax
incentives in the late 1980s to develop domestic unconventional gas fields. (Gilliland)

Horizontal

drilling is achieved by attaching a special drilling bit that can change its direction. These drill bits are typically fitted with a tracking system to pinpoint the exact location of the drill bit. At a few hundred feet above the target shale rock nicknamed the kick off point the directional drill starts to slope horizontally and by the end of the slope is parallel with the shale layer. The horizontal portion can extend out about a mile or in some areas two. After desired point is reached they pull out the drill and insert the final production pipe and incase it in cement. Sets of perforating charge sleds are lowered to a section at the end of the pipe and set off to create fracturing holes in the pipe and shale. The sleds are pulled out and the hydraulic fracturing stage commences. After the section of pipe is hydraulically fractured a plug is lowered to close off that end section and the sleds are lowered to perforate the next section. These sections can vary up to 150 feet

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment? long. When the entire length of pipe surrounded by shale is fractured a drill is lowered to remove the plugs and pump out the remaining hydraulic fluids. The gas then can be extracted.

(Gilliland) Since hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have been combined it has become a heated topic of whether hydraulic fracturing should be allowed. Michael Brune executive director of the Sierra

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment? Club, the nations largest environmental group, has been voicing his concerns. In his article he explains that, natural gas drillers remain exempt from aspects of landmark health and environmental protections such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act. (Brune) He also states, While the industry claims this process is safe, there are hundreds of water contamination cases across the country as a result of unchecked and unregulated fracking. (Brune) He does not reference any studies to support water contamination facts due to fracking. He suggests,

federal and state agencies need to take a hard look at the risks natural gas fracking poses to our health and communities. (Brune) He recommends the only safe, smart and responsible way to address our nation's energy needs is to look beyond coal, oil and gas, and focus on clean, efficient energy sources such as wind, solar and geothermal. (Brune) Mr. Muller, a professor of physics at the University of California, Berkeley says, emissions are at the lowest they've been for 20 years thanks largely to America's continuing switch from coal to natural gas, which emits half as much carbon dioxide for each kilowatt hour of energy generated. (Millard) He says, One of the factors slowing the world-wide switch to natural gas, however, is shortsighted
opposition from some environmentalists in the U.S., Europe and beyond. They argue that extracting natural gas by hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") may pollute local water supplies and leak the powerful greenhouse gas methane, and their arguments affect official and commercial thinking in both the developed and developing worlds. (Millard) He states, It is true that fracking has caused some limited,

local pollution in the U.S., but this is attributable largely to the wildcatting behavior of the rapidly growing industry. Technology for clean fracking is technically straightforward, and government authorities can promote its use through careful monitoring and large fines for transgressions. (Millard) Ellen Gilliland, a geophysicist and researcher at the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research at Virginia Tech. Natural gas has a reputation as a clean energy option because it produces fewer greenhouse gas emissions than coal or oil when burned, but this fact ignores the overall footprint of

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment? unconventional gas production. A recent study from Cornell University suggests the footprint of unconventional production may be equal to or larger than that of other fossil fuels, due to the high global warming potential of fugitive methane that may leak to the atmosphere. (Gilliland) Another environmental concern is contamination or pollution due to surface spills of fracture treatment fluid. When they occur, they are usually identified and cleaned quickly, but because the water and chemicals are mixed at the well site, spills may contain high concentrations of toxic chemicals, posing a threat to humans, wildlife, or clean water supplies (Gilliland) But she does express that Eliminating hydraulic

fracturing would mean eliminating drilling in unconventional areas and, in turn, eliminating reserves that our current and forecasted levels of consumption demand. It is well known that turning off the tap of natural gas would increase home heating costs, but, additionally, 25 percent of electricity in the U.S. is sourced from natural gas, and that percentage is on the rise. (Gilliland) Rock Zierman, chief executive of the California Independent Petroleum Association, tells the Los Angeles Times, The "safe fracking" question has been asked and answered many times over by government regulators, scientists and other technical experts, and they have concluded that hydraulic fracturing is a fundamentally safe technology. (Zierman) The EPA studied a site in Alabama at the request of environmentalists and found "no evidence" of "any contamination or endangerment of underground sources of drinking water." (Zierman) In 2009, another study from the U.S. Department of Energy and the Ground Water Protection Council -- an interstate body of environmental regulators -concluded that fracking is a "safe and effective" technology for producing energy from deep geological formations like California's Monterey Shale He also states that, Stanford University geophysicist Mark Zoback, who's also served as an advisor to the Obama administration, confirmed that fluids used in hydraulic fracturing "have not contaminated any water supply," and with more than a mile of rock separating deep shale formations and shallow drinking water aquifers, "it is very unlikely they could." (Zierman) Regulators should continue to review the rules that apply to hydraulic fracturing, and find

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment? ways to improve them to ensure that the public has the information it needs about the process. The

facts clearly show that this technology can be used safely while regulatory updates are made. (Zierman) "Wells can leak whether they're hydraulically fracked or not. ... If you misidentify the problems, you misidentify the solutions," said Mark D. Zoback, a Stanford University geophysicist and member of President Obama's Shale Gas Development advisory committee. "Things get spilled, things get contaminated; when things aren't drilled properly, it can cause environmental problems down the line. But hydraulic fracturing is really not the problem." (Puko) Hydraulic fracturing gives drillers access to unconventional natural gases which can be used to cover a boost of growing demands in the next decades. Because of this, I think hydraulic fracturing is necessary to keep up with the demands. But, we need to ensure to be consistently looking for causes of environmental contamination to ensure our environment isnt destroyed. Hydraulic fracturing itself does not seem to be the cause of the environmental problems. However, the processes surrounding hydraulic fracturing should be reviewed.

What is Hydraulic Fracturing and is it too Risky for the Environment?

Bibliography
Brune, Micheal. "An Industry Run Amok." 26 Mar 2012. SIRS Issues Reasearcher. USA Today. Web. 14 Nov 2013. Gilliland, Ellen. "Fracking Can Access Energy from Deep Below." 9 Jun 2012. SIRS Issue Researcher. McClatchy - Tribune News Service. Web. 14 Nov 2013. Millard, Richard. "Fracking's Green Side." 7 Oct 2012. SIRS Issus Researcher. Washington Post. Web. 14 Nov 2013. Puko, Timothy. "5 Myths About the Marcellus and Natural Gas Industry." 2 September 2012. SIRS Issue Researcher. McClatchy - Tribune News Service. Website. 14 November 2013. Zierman, Rock. Why So Much fracking Hystreria? 21 Jun 2013. Los Angeles Times. 24 Nov 2013. <http://sks.sirs.com>.