Task Force Suggests Testing Air From Well Drill Pads
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
11 November 2011
By Erich Schwartzel
Drill pads in Pennsylvania could be a good place to start testing
air emissions associated with natural gas extraction in the
Marcellus Shale, according to recommendations released Thursday by
a U.S. Department of Energy shale gas task force.
And that emissions data should be collected by drillers before
government regulations are put in place that require it, said the
Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Shale Gas Production
Subcommittee. Both the Marcellus and the Eagle Ford shale
formation in Texas work as possible testing grounds for systems
that would search for air pollutants, the subcommittee report
says.
The report was the second from the subcommittee tasked with
examining best practices in American shale plays and reporting
back to Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and President Barack Obama.
The subcommittee, which is made up of energy experts and industry
leaders, earlier this year completed a months-long listening tour
that included a public meeting in Washington, Pa.
Its first report, released in August, said natural gas companies
should be required to disclose all chemicals used in the hydraulic
fracturing, or "fracking," process that splinters shale rock and
allows gas to escape.
That recommendation is still included in this most recent report,
as is a call for the elimination of diesel fuel in fracking
fluids. Concerns about air pollution around drilling sites led the
committee to recommend field studies on possible methane migration
from gas wells to water reservoirs.
Overall, the second report echoes its predecessor in calling for
greater transparency from an industry that the subcommittee says
hasn't explained itself to the public very well.
The U.S. government should create a website that explains shale
gas operations, and interagency efforts should immediately begin
analyzing shale drilling's greenhouse gas footprint, according to
the report.
The subcommittee cites the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a
pro-industry lobbying group based in Canonsburg, as an effective
regional approach to sharing best practices.
Erich Schwartzel: eschwartzel@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1455.