New Study Bolsters Shale Gas Industry Claims About Hydraulic
Fracturing
The State Journal
17 February 2012
By Taylor Kuykendall, Reporter
A new study shows, based on evidence reviewed, there is no link
between groundwater contamination and the shale gas drilling
practice of hydraulic fracturing.
The study was conducted by the Energy Institute at the University
of Texas at Austin. The study concluded that many problems
associated with fracturing are actually problems that are common
to all oil and gas drilling operations.
"These problems are not unique to hydraulic fracturing," said
Charles Groat, associate director at the Energy Institute and
leader of the project.
The most common causes of reports of contamination, the study
concludes can be traced to spills on the surface or from
mishandling of wastewater used to fracture the wells.
"Our goal was to provide policymakers a foundation for developing
sensible regulations that ensure responsible shale gas
development," Groat said. "What we've tried to do is separate
facto from fiction."
"Separating Fact from Fiction" was the title of the study, which
was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association
for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver, British Columbia on
Thursday.
Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an
industry group, was positive on the findings of the study.
"Entirely too often, the debate surrounding the responsible
development of shale gas is clouded by rhetoric that is
unsupported by the facts, proven data and substantiated science,"
Klaber said. "This new study, however, aims to objectively
separate fact from fiction, and does so effectively."
The findings of the study are not likely to surprise many who
follow the issue. While the process of fracturing the Earth miles
underground has unsettled some, it has been widely accepted by
most regulators and industry officials that surface concerns are
more common than groundwater contamination.
"Protection of shallow aquifers in conventional oil and gas
operations through such measures as surface casing and cementing
and drilling mud pit liners needs to be a primary focus for shale
gas wells," the authors of the report write. "For example, the use
of additional chemicals and proponents for hydraulic fracturing
and the potential for groundwater impacts by construction problems
or failures in the upper part of the well bore require additional
monitoring and protective measures. The focus of media attention
specifically on the fracturing process has highlighted concern
about potential groundwater impacts."
The Energy Institute will be examining two other issues that have
been tied to hydraulic fracturing – seismic activity and lifecycle
emissions.
Seismic activity has been pointed to as the cause for a number of
earthquake activities across the country, and multiple studies
have been published regarding gas emissions.
Studies from both sides have sparked discussion about the
lifecycle emissions of natural gas.
In addition to absolving hydraulic fracturing of groundwater
contamination, the group also concluded a number of other
findings.
One was that in the Marcellus shale and other shale gas regions,
methane contamination is often traced back to natural sources. The
report also found overwhelmingly negative coverage of hydraulic
fracturing in the media and a lack of baseline studies that would
have been useful in assessing the effects of drilling.
For a copy of the full report and associated materials visit the
Energy Institute website:
http://energy.utexas.edu/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=151&Itemid=160