With the depletion of our fossil fuels, we are being forced to find new ways to extract natural gas and hydraulic fracking is a technology which has enabled us to extract gas from hard-to-tap shale in many areas of the U.S. including Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Texas and Louisiana.

We never know the worth of water till the well is dry.
-Thomas Fuller, Gnomologia, 1732

Hydraulic fracking (a/k/a fracing or fracturing) has been used by the oil & gas industry for more than 60 years. While it has been more commonly used to stimulate the production of older producing wells, the technology has evolved and now allows the extraction of natural gas from shale or sand. This new drilling technology makes extracting gas commercially viable in areas we once thought were impossible. This is one of the reasons natural gas was recently touted the “fuel of the future.” It burns 70% cleaner than coal and its costs have come down. Natural gas could be the fuel to bridge us to new renewable energies, but with the recent blowout at the Marcellus Shale formation, drilling has been put on hold and hydraulic fracking is subject to increasing scrutiny.

During hydraulic fracking a fracturing fluid is injected at high pressure into sand or shale in some cases as deep as 10,000 to 13,000 feet below ground. The intent of fracking is to loosen natural gas which has become trapped in tiny bubbles. A deep well is dug and the fracturing fluid is pumped down under high pressure to fracture the shale and let the gas flow back up to the surface. The fracturing fluid contains a proppant, suspended particles to hold the fractures open.

One of the environmental concerns of fracturing is the leak off from the fracturing fluid. Some fluid is loss in permeable rock and can make its way to a water source. Additionally, air and land contamination were among the concerns that arose during the well blowout at the Marcellus Shale on June 3, 2010. During this incident, 35K gallons of fracturing fluid were sprayed in the air and over the landscape.

The concern of course is the actual compounds used in fracturing fluids are somewhat secretive which makes it difficult to assess environmental concerns. The composition of fracturing fluids varies depending on the basin and needs, but can include toxic substances and carcinogens like: benzene, formaldehyde, kerosene, toluene and xylene. (1)

Recently the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission voted to require full disclosure of the hydraulic fracturing fluids used in natural gas exploration. (2) On the federal level, congress is being urged to repeal an exemption in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which would force the drilling companies to fully disclose the chemicals used in their hydraulic fracking.

There is no doubt that we need natural gas as a resource. The answer isn’t to abandon the premise of extracting natural gas from difficult places. But, if we are to continue down this road, don’t you think we owe it to ourselves and our children to do it safely?
 

(1) http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/ogdsgeischap5.pdf

(2) http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/article_069139a4-5b9b-51c3-a599-a38f788e8ff4.html