Shale Gas is the newest Fossil Fuel Technology which would greatly help extend the world’s fast depleting oil and gas reserves.Shale gas has boomed in the US recently with improvements in hydraulic technology.Shale Gas is a “unconventional” Gas form like coalbed methane which was not usually available in commercial quantities.However the ability to fracture shale formation to allow gas to be extracted with advancements in Technology has allowed the ability for large scale Shale Gas Production.Despite higher costs,the high prices of Natural Gas makes this process economically viable.Huge investments are being planned in Shale Gas production in the US with Big Oil already making significant acquisitions in this space.
While it Shale Gas could be an Energy Panacea ,is it Environmentally Safe?
There have been concerns raised about the environmental degradation resulting from Shale Gas Production.Recent incidents of water and soil contamination from Pennsylvania has led to voices being raised in protest.Note all Fossil Fuel extraction leads to some extend of Environmental Pollution both during extraction and during usage.Shale Gas in no exception.However some unique types of Pollution being reported by Farmers has led to more focus on this still nascent technology.Pennsylvania has quarantined cattle which have fallen sick after drinking toxic waste water.Shale Gas Extraction requires injecting Water mixed with Chemicals at High Pressure to fracture Shale Rock formations.This results in contamination of water with chemicals that can lead to human and animal sickness.The problem arises from “Fracking” that involves mixing of water and toxic chemicals.Reports from US indicate that tap and toilet water in houses near these gas wells have been severely contaminated.Their have also been reports about Gas Leakages.Federal Regulators have tentatively started investigating Shale Gas Technology.But the Oil Industry in typical fashion is opposing the scope of the study.Reminds me of Saudi Arabia blocking the study of climate change on rising seal levels.The Oil and Gas companies currently don’t even have to reveal the chemicals they are using during the Fracking process.Lets hope that this Regulators do their job otherwise it could lead to another BP Oil Spill type of disaster in the future.The laxness of the Oil Drilling Regulator was a major factor in one of the world’s biggest environmental disasters.
Officials have quarantined 28 cows that may have drunk toxic waste water from natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania, adding to concerns about health risks arising from exploiting the state’s vast shale deposits.The cows had access for at least three days to a pool that formed from a leaking waste water holding pond on a farm in Tioga County, north-central Pennsylvania, where East Resources Inc is drilling into the Marcellus Shale formation.
Steve Harris believes that pressure also ruined his well. He lives on 14 acres south of Dallas. Shortly after a driller fracked a nearby well, he and his neighbors noticed a change in water pressure.”When you’d flush the toilet — in the back where the bowl is — water would shoot out the top of the bowl,” says Harris.When he took a shower, there was a foul odor, and the water left rashes on his grandson’s skin. His horses stopped drinking from their trough, and there was an oily film on top of the water.
Similar stories are popping up around the country. In Ohio, a couple’s house blew up when gas from their water well filled their basement. A woman in Colorado blames her health problems on the chemicals used for fracking.For the most part, people nearby don’t even know what chemicals are being injected into the ground — companies don’t have to report that.
A federal study of hydraulic fracturing set to begin this spring is expected to provide the most expansive look yet at how the natural gas drilling process can affect drinking water supplies, according to interviews with EPA officials and a set of documents outlining the scope of the project. The research will take a substantial step beyond previous studies and focus on how a broad range of ancillary activity – not just the act of injecting fluids under pressure – may affect drinking water quality.The oil and gas industry strongly opposes this new approach. The agency’s intended research “goes well beyond relationships between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water,” said Lee Fuller, vice president of government affairs for the Independent Petroleum Association of America in comments (PDF) he submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency.The “lifecycle” approach will allow the agency to take into account hundreds of reports of water contamination in gas drilling fields across the country. Although the agency hasn’t settled on the exact details, researchers could examine both underground and surface water supplies, gas well construction errors, liquid waste disposal issues and chemical storage plans as part of its assessment.
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[…] contaminating soil and water in areas where they are extracting gas.I had examined this issue in Is Shale Gas Extraction Environmentally Safe.While there have been no official investigation that has proved that Shale Gas is leading to water […]
[…] Technology is but new and unproven on a long time scale.There have been concerns about the Environment Impact of Shale Gas Extraction.Also low Gas Prices due to the GFC has made the industry growth slowdown.This is a good time to buy […]
[…] }); }Shale Gas Extraction has seen doubts being raised against its Environmental Safety Record.This new form of Fossil Fuel Extraction has seen a Gold Rush from Global Oil and Gas Majors […]
[…] Shale Gas has questions being raised about its environment friendliness with a huge number of reports of its water contamination features.The controversial Fracking Process leads to chemical contamination of water bodies leading to disease and sickness among local animals and humans.Shale Gas Companies and Local Officials have also been accused of conniving to break regulations and laws regarding water usage.Besides Pennsylvania risks becoming a guinea pig for Big Oil and Gas as it turns the whole state into one giant Shale Gas Well.Note the technology is new and there are other potentials risks and dangers which have not been adequately addressed.The order banning further development of shale gas development on state’s forested lands is a good one but won’t hinder the industry there.Note they can continue their activities on private lands and 25% of the forests are anyway under the thumb of the Gas Companies.Pennsylvania is important to the environment as the progress of Shale Gas will be emulated by countries like India who want to make Environment Safety an integral part of the Shale Gas Policy. […]