Hydraulic Fracturing - Term Paper Example

Hydraulic Fracturing HYDRAULIC FRACTURING Introduction Hydraulic Fracturing is used after the drilled holes for gas or oil mining iscomplete. It is also commonly called Hydraulic Fracking. Therefore, it can be defined as the use of materials and fluid to restore or create small fractures in order to enable or stimulate oil and gas wells for the production of the respective gases from new and existing wells. This increases the rate and percentage at which this fluid is produced from their respective reservoir. Sand and water make around 98% of the fluid used in Hydraulic Fracturing. Though some chemical additives are used as liquid, exact formulation is dependent on the well. We have two different types of fracturing and these are Gas fracturing and Oil fracturing. Oil fracturing is whereby mixtures of Hydrocarbons which are liquid at room temperature are drilled through the use of hydraulics from their parent rock deposit. Gas Fracturing is done through drilling fractures underneath the earths surface, where they are formed as a result of fossil remains buried under, to provide enough pressure so as to propel the gases to the ground for collection. The main aim to use Hydraulic Fracturing is because, the future existence of this well in United States Of America (USA) will depend on this process for them to survive. Application of the process is predicted to save over 60 to 80 percent of wells drilled in the USA as per the Wells Drilling Experts. The process also extends the life of this well. Countries which Apply Hydraulic Fracturing According to US Department of Energy and other federal agencies, 30 percent of gas production in the US comes from offshore drilling. This is affirmed by the Executive Order of President Obama on supporting Safe and Responsible Development on Unconventional Domestic Natural Gas Resource as indicated in Section 1 of the policy (THE WHITE HOUSE, April 13, 2012). He says that, natural gas provides over 25 percent of the consumption of Energy in US. US was the first nation to adopt the use of Hydraulic Fracturing. This includes States such as Vermont, whereby on May 17th 2012 it became the first State in United States to ban Hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania. Other countries out of the United States that practice this process are, United Kingdom where the fracturing process is carried out by Quadrille Resources which is given license to carry out the process, though, currently other companies have acquired licenses too. From June 2011, the process was suspended in the United Kingdom over safety concerns, though the suspension was raised in April 2012 after a research indicated that, the practice was safe. Since the resumption, some protest groups like “Frack Off” have emerged to protest on the process. In Canada, hydraulic fracturing has been on going in Industrial level since 1990. Talisman Energy Company was handed a long term license by the Government of British Columbia to draw water from the Williston Lake Reservoir in a period of twenty years. This raised a lot of concern especially lately in July 2011. The practice has also received criticism from Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. In Quebec, the government suspended the practice as they wait for an Environmental Review report from the experts. Finally, in Australia, fracturing was limited to convectional gas and oil wells up until mid 2000 in Cooper Basin. This is due to the fact that, the government has banned the most use of the chemicals in Hydraulic Fracturing Additives. USA and European Comparison in Hydraulic Fracturing application As it emerged from the USA, Hydraulic Fracturing is the major process that most industries in US use to help in the extraction of the Oil and Gases. Many regulatory bodies have been created in the US to enable stimulate the process and oversee the potential effects this process can cause to the environment. Experts have been drawn from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) which is the body that governs all environmental issues in the US. They have addressed the key issues that are related to the process of hydraulic fracturing and their impacts to the environment. Many States in US have come strongly in total use of this method in the process of extracting oil and natural gas. The only state that bans this process is Vermont. Other states like Pennsylvania give total authentication to the use of this process. According to US Energy Information Administration, Europe has over 693 Trillion cubic feet of shale as compared to 2.811 Trillion barrels of shale in the US. Most of the European countries have raised issues on safety of application of Hydraulic Fracturing. For example, Bulgaria has a strong stand on opposing this process. It is believed that, the stand may stay long until a firm research on the effects of the process are analyzed. Not only in Bulgaria, but Ireland has stepped out to enact laws which when passed, will give the country an opportunity to extract shale gas by the assistance of Hydraulic fracturing. However, Poland supplies much of European Oil and gas resources through the USA Exxon Mobil Company of which it says the operation is not profitable as expected. Wine producers and Environments raised an alarm in France and this led to the process being outlawed in July 2011 as it was termed to pollute the waters. Even after a study commission by European Union (EU) to show that hydraulic fracturing is safe. Most of the European countries did not take much into consideration on the study outcome, so they went ahead and banned this process. In Comparison, the Europeans countries are less into use of hydraulic fracturing while the United States has fully implemented the use of it. This can explain why the United States export most of its oil products to Europe. How Hydraulic Fracturing is Done The process undergoes four stages when in use. These are,: 1. Acid Stage: Water is mixed with dilute acid such as Muriatic or Hydrochloric acid. This is to clear cement debris and provide an open conduit for other liquids through dissolving the carbonate minerals hence opening fractures near the well bore. 2. Pad Stage: Consist of around 100,000 gallons of water without proppant material. This helps to facilitate placement and flow of the proppant materials. 3. Prop sequence Stage: consists of several sub - stages of proppant material combined with water. This material (Proppant) varies from ceramic material or fine mesh sand, which are intended to keep open the fractures created after the pressure is reduced. This stage also can use several water gallons as above. 4. Flushing stage which consists of water enough to flush out excess proppant from the well bore. Despite the above, there are other additives used in Wellbores especially in Marcelus Wells in Pennsylvania. This includes, Abiocide (Used to prevent growth of bacteria in the wells), Iron stabilizes agents e.g. Citric Acid which aid in precipitating Iron compounds by keeping them dissolved in water, Friction agents used to reduce pressure and reduce tubular friction. They are capable of reducing friction by nearly 60 percent. The diagram below represents the Hydraulic Fracturing Process Environmental Issues Raised by Hydraulic Fracturing Many environmental issues of concern have been raised of which it is challenging the adequacy of the existing regulatory bodies. This process originated from the United States. Most of the environmental issues of concern especially in the USA are as follows a) Ground Water contamination- This is due to the leakage of some of the chemicals applied in the Hydraulic Fracturing process into the bedrock. b) Migration of Hydraulic fracturing chemicals and gases to the the surface hence causing health effect to humans c) Mishandling of the wastes in the process- This waste includes the water that has been used in the process and some of the old equipments. Some of them are non-biodegradable and are capable of causing climatic alterations or change in the atmosphere. d) Its contribution to raised CO2 levels through extraction of previously hydrocarbons which have been already extracted. High CO2 levels in the environment can cause global warming. e) Risks to air quality- The air emissions from Hydraulic Fracturing are linked to Methane gas leakage and natural gas or diesel emission from the pumps, compressors and drilling rigs used. According to Robert Howarth, Professor University Of Cornell, "3.6% to 7.9% of the methane production from shale gas escapes into the atmosphere in leaks and venting as long as the Well operates”. This is potentially high pollutants to the environment. f) Radioactivity emission- the water flowing back from this process contains radium which is a radioactive isotope that is potentially a causative agent of most cancerous complication in humans. Mitigation of this Environmental Problems Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is a regulatory body of all environmental related complications. It has set forth rules and procedures that a firm has to undergo before engaging in Hydraulic Fracturing. A number of Studies have been carried out especially in Pennsylvania State University were by there is a proposal that the wastewater released from the process can be recycled for domestic consumption and industrial use.This is seen as the first step in compacting this environmental pollutions from the process. On top of the above, many legislations have been formed to regulate the environmental problems associated with the use of this process. According to the online Matern Law, they include Federal Regulators like the Safe Drinking Water Act to safeguard on the quality of underground water, State Permitting Trend which limits on the oil fracking, Michigan Permitting Instructions (May 2011) and West Virginia DEP Emergency Regulations (August 2011). Legal issues raised by Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic fracturing is viewed as a national issue. However, in USA its not covered intensively by National Environmental Laws. There is a high concern for the purity of the drinking water in States hence the establishment of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) which has some control programs on Underground water injection including activities related to gas and oil production, all underground. According to an analysis of Shale gas by the US Centre for Energy Economics and policy, the following should be regulated, 1. Waste water storage and disposal 2. Well drilling and production 3. Well plugging and abandonment 4. Site development and preparation 5. Well inspection and enforcement This is termed as immediate legal issues raised by the practice of Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States of America. Pennsylvania Act 13 This is a Law that regulates Pennsylvania natural gas Industry. It was enacted by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as the Pennsylvania Zoning Laws for Gas Drilling. Its become commonly known as “Pennysilvania Act 13”. It received criticisms especially from the seven Municipalities representatives, arguing that, it takes away their ability to control oil and gas drilling operation through zoning hence leaving them with little power to protect schools, homeowners, and also parks from being surrounded by waste pits and drilling sites. They also protest that, the legislature went too far in enacting this law for local zoning. This Act 13 is different from Vermont’s May 2012 Legislation Act. This Legislation, totally banned application of Hydraulic Fracturing in State of Vermont. This state was the first in US to ban such process. According to Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin, the bill was to ensure chemicals are not injected into groundwater in pursuit of energy. He claimed that, the science of fracturing was much uncertain. He termed this as a move into the provision of clean water in rivers, lakes and hence improving the quality of life. Unlike Act 13, which does not cater for the effect this process will have on the surrounding environment; this legislation prohibits all activities related to hydraulic fracturing. Safe Drinking Water Act (SDW) This is a federal law that ensures the quality of water in America. It oversees states, sets standards for drinking water quality and water supply from the states who implement such standards. It was passed in 1974 by the Congress to protect public health through regulating drinking water supply. The issues that were discussed include the following:- Source water protection- most of the water used comes from lakes, rivers, springs etc. Protecting these sources provides safer and clean water. Drinking State Revolving Fund- the National water system must repair or build new infrastructure to continue supplying US with clean water. Operation Certificate- This helps to protect public health by giving inevitable standards to certificate holders who want to operate public water service provision. Role Played by Hydraulic Fracturing in US Energy About 30 percent of energy used in US comes from Oil and Natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing is therefore termed as one among the main methods used for gas and oil extraction. In North America for instance, its believed that, this process will account for over 70 percent of natural gas development in the near future. Horizontal drilling and Hydraulic fracturing apply the latest technology and this makes it easy to recover the shale oil and gases. The Economic Impacts Of Hydraulic Fracturing In the United States of America, the development of Hydraulic Fracturing in Shale supported over 600,000 jobs as of 2010 (Yew, 1997). There is available of cheap domestic energy (natural gas) which is essential for use in manufacturing, chemical and steel Industries. There will be relatively decreased price of ethane of which will give United States manufacturers an added advantage over many other competitors. This is due to the fact that, most of US manufacturers us ethene in their process. The exportation of the gas and oil, if implemented in the country would give it a substantial foreign exchange income. According to Americas Natural Gas Association (ANGA) lower gas prices is capable of adding an estimated $926 annually of disposal household income in the year 2012 and 2015, and more use of Hydraulic fracturing may increase the value to $2,000 by the end of 2015. Bibliography American Petroleum Institute. (2009). Hydraulic Fracturing. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from API Website: http://www.api.org/policy-and-issues/hf.aspx Exxon Mobil. (2012). Hydraulic Fracturing. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from Exxon Mobil Web site: http://www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/energy_production_hf.aspx Offord, A. (2011). Marten Law. Poland. Publica. (2010). What is Hydraulic Fracturing. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from Publica Website: http://www.propublica.org/special/hydraulic-fracturing-national United States Environmental protection Agency. (2011). Operator Certification. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from the EPA Web site: http://water.epa.gov/infrastructure/drinkingwate/pws/dwoperatorcert/index.cfm White House. (2011). White house Web site. Retrieved March 14, 2013, from ERP: www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/microsites/ERP_2012_ch_8.pdf Yew, C. H. (1997). Mechanics of Hydraulic Fracturing. Houston, Texas: Gulf Professional Publishing. Read More