The Environmental Costs and Benefits of Fracking - Dissertation Example

The Environmental Costs and Benefits of Fracking Abstract On July 30, 2014, the US government embarked on doing something that it had prohibited itself from doing for almost four decades (Baumeister and Kilian 2). The country exported domestically produced crude oil. The Congress had banned exports of oil in the wake of the oil embargo in the 70s. Today, the issues that were withholding the country from exporting oil are very different from how things were in 1970s. The US had been an exporter of oil for a very long time. Its decision to not only produce, but also export oil has baffled many. For the US respecting the law on banning exports would not have been very difficult for the country. The main reason being the thirst for imports and a decline in the production of oil. The US imported about 3.7 million barrels of oil in 2006 (Vivoda 4620). The main changes that occurred between the year and today narrows down to fracking, a familiar name referring to hydraulic fracturing. The process, combined with horizontal drilling, has revolutionized an oil boom powering the country’s energy production, unlocking its substantial petroleum and natural gas deposits that are trapped in shale formations. The success of this process has been received warmly as the country can reduce imports from unstable parts of the world. Since the natural gas from the shale formation will be used to power some companies, it will act as ‘bridge fuel’ for cleaner energy as it will replace coal in these enterprises. Nonetheless, there have been much pressure from people and organization concerned with the process and have been advising that the government stops using “unconventional” methods of producing oil. This paper will explore the advantages involved in fracking and mention a few environmental concerns of the technique. Introduction of Fracking Oil is a critical natural resource. In fact, without oil, there would not be any form of development and the world be ages away from industrialization. The importance of the commodity to the world is the reason any changes in prices or any threats to its availability can prove very detrimental to a country. The US has been a major exporter of oil from the ‘conventional’ oil-producing countries. While the country has always had oil in shale formation, it has never embarked on commercial drilling of petroleum from its deposits. Drilling oil for oneself offers many advantages to a country. The US is now able to save on foreign exchange and to earn the same after exporting the product. This is particularly beneficial to an economy. While fracking is quite expensive and said to have very adverse effects on the planet, the process is, after all, feasible and has several other advantages as the paper will highlight below. The main critics of the technique have been siting its excessive use of water and its purported environmental effects. Oil Background Information World’s energy consumption share of oil was at 38 percent for the US in 1998 (MacKenzie 98). The International Energy Agency states that in that year alone, the production rose by 1.3 percent including gas condensates. The statistics show that oil consumption has been increasing since 1975 (MacKenzie 98). Basically, this is due to industrialization which has seen more industries being started even in the third world country. The number of cars in the streets have more than doubled which means that there is an automatic increase in oil consumption. Although there is manufacturing of better and more efficient cars since the advent of going ‘green’ it is no doubt the use of petroleum will continue rising. The oil supplies that discovered so far can only provide the world with oil for the next 40 years (Shafiee and Topal 183). The chief oil producing countries are Saudi Arabia which produced about 446 million tons about a decade ago, the US with 355 million tons the same year, Russia Federation with a little over 300 million tons of oil in production. Iran produced 176 million tons, Mexico with 163 million tons in production, Venezuela with 162 million tons of oil the same year. China, the main importer of oil produced about 180 million tons, Norway produced 149 million tons, Great Britain 139 million tons while Iraq produced 125 million tons (Kondratov 2). The main producer of oil in Africa, Nigeria, is the 6th chief producer of petroleum although it does not feature on the list of reasons the paper will not be looking deep into. With such incredible levels of production, it is alarming to know that they may not be able to service the demand for oil in the next five decades. While oil is a fundamental part of the development of any given country, its non-renewability means that it is not sustainable and may, therefore, run out after some few years. It is because of this reason, and the fact that it is the most pollutant of the environment, that the world is looking for alternative sources of energy. What is fracking? Fracking is the shorthand for hydraulic fracturing. This type of drilling of oil has been the use commercially for about 65 years but has become particularly famous after the US has decided to employ the process in extracting oil from its deposits of oil in shale formation. Currently, the process has become a little advanced as there is use of cutting edge technology in horizontal drilling. Fracking is mostly responsible for the surging oil and gas production in USA. Fracking involves tapping shale and other tight-rock formations safely through drilling a mile or more below the surface essentially before gradually turning horizontally and then drilling several more thousands of feet or more. Using the horizontal drilling technique, a single surface site can be used to accommodate several wells. After drilling wells is complete, cased and of course cemented, several small perforations are made in the horizontal portions of the well pipes. A typical mixture of water (90%) sand (9.5%) and additives (0.5%) is pumped at very high pressure creating a microfracture in the rock held open by grains of sand (Mitchell and Parris 4). The additives are especially useful as they reduce friction (and in turn reducing the required pressure from diesel powered sources and thus reducing air pollution). They also prevent the corrosion of the pipe therefore boosting the efficiency of the well and protecting the ecology of the land all at the same time. Hydraulic fractures are formed by pumping the fracturing fluid into borehole at a rate sufficient to surge the pressure at the target depth (mainly determined by the location of the well casing perforations). The pressure is supposed to exceed the pressure gradient of the rock. During the process of fracking, the loss of fracturing fluid from the channel into the surrounding permeable rock occurs. The process in referred to as the “fracturing leakoff”. If engineers control the process well, it is capable of exceeding 70% of the injected volume which may result in the formation matrix damage, altered geometry, and adverse formation fluid interaction. Several methods that create or seal holes from the side of the wellbore primarily control the location of the fractures along the borehole. Fracking is performed in cased wells, and the zones of fracture are usually accessed by perforating casings at the locations. Composition of Fracking Components Fracking equipment typically consists of a monitoring unit, one or more high-pressure, a slurry blender, and high-volume fracturing pumps (characteristically robust triplex or quintuplex pumps). The associated equipment consists of fracturing tanks used for storage and handling of proppant and chemical additives supposed to monitor chemical additions continually and accurately. There are also high-pressure treating iron, low-pressure, flexible hoses, meters, and gauges to measure flow rates, treat presser, and track fluid density. Negative effects of fracking Since fracking involves the pumping of brew of water, sand, and chemicals into the ground for breaking rocks apart, private land owners and environmentalists worry that the chemicals may leach and eventually poison the groundwater reservoirs. Companies are not required to disclose all the chemicals that they will be using during the process. It is also not a must that they reveal the formula itself. For this reason, first respondents or even residents find it very difficult to respond to accidents or emergencies as they are caught unawares. Scientist might also not be able to gauge the threats the chemical present in the environment in a timely manner if they did not have the formula availed to them in early enough in the first place. In Michigan, each frack well has as many as 35 million gallons of freshwater removed from nearby aquifers (Burton et al. 1680). This is the highest rate in the US. A Michigan environmental conservation group known as the Anglers of the Au Sable worry that at this rate of extracting water, the wells will be depleted in no time, and it could dry up rivers. Drying of the aquifers and the rivers can pose a threat to the ecological health of the area. Transporting fracking water to the wells occurs through the use of heavy trucks tuning rural areas into industrial highways. All these vehicles produce much pollution to the atmospheres through expelling poisonous gasses as they transport the water. The fracking processes take place day and night causing much noise pollution in areas that could otherwise enjoy nature’s serenity. The stakes of fracking are also rising. Environmental groups state that energy companies such as EnCana are pushing for the Michigan Department of Environment Quality to allow multiple wells from eh same site. This is known as “resource play hubs” and can have very devastating effects on the environment as they can result in depletion of water required for the sustenance of the local population. Air pollution Air pollution is very common in fracking. It occurs almost throughout the process of extraction such as preparation, extraction, and the closer phases. Constructing of roads required to access the wells occurs, well pads cleared, and the bore drilled. Diesel engines power fracturing phases. During the extraction process, wastewater is stored in tanks or open ponds, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) vented or infrared. A study conducted by the U.S Government Accountability Office (GAO) carried out in 2010; the federal lost an approximate 5% of lands in the western US through the production of natural gas using fracking methods. Geographical Research Letters carried out a study that estimated over 55,000 kilograms of methane per hour leak from the Uinta Basin of eastern Utah leaking in 2013 (Jackson et al. 348). The gas was leaking to the atmosphere where there are immeasurable efforts and desire to curb global warming. Advantages of fracking Fracking has several advantages that, by far, outweigh the disadvantages. There are already fossil fuels virtually “locked” in the bedrock shale formations under the country’s soil able to make it independent and a net exporter of oil and gas at least in the near future. If the state tapped the power source, it would be less dependent whether economically or politically on unstable oil producers such as Venezuela and the Middle East. The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, uses the natural gas as a political lever so the US mining their natural gas would reduce such unwarranted political power. Natural gas industries claim that fracking is safe since the shale formations lie far below the water table thus posing minimal threats to ground water. Currently, so much heat on fracking comes from critics citing that the technique pollutes the underground water through the chemicals used in making the concoction. Such chemicals, supposed to lessen friction and at the same time reduce the corrosion of the hosepipes have been said to cause threats the environment as they leach to the water aquifers polluting clean water. The truth is the well are over a mile deep and very far from the groundwater. The fact that there are those claiming that fracking is a pollutant to the environment just shows that the issue of environmental degradation suffers from double-standards. The world has been drilling oil for decades now. Fracking is not anything new. Global warming is quite a threat to the environment. At this age where the ozone is becoming more and more depleted, glaciers melting at such a rate, and climate change causing increased rates of desertification, not to mention reduced agriculture portion as season are becoming more unpredictable, any clean energy can be a plus to avoiding a menace. Fracking is one of the best alternatives out there as it leads to increased production of natural gas replacing the coal used in industries which is known to have some of the most adverse effects of the environment. In places such as Kalkaska County, the fracking industry is a big boost to the economy in the region. The reason is that it provides countless jobs for hundreds of people. Such positions include contracting and subcontracting jobs. Unlike some argument that hydraulic fracturing or rather fracking is very expensive, the truth is the process is innovative and cost-effective for drilling oil and natural gas from rock formations far underground. It is already a booming industry in Michigan, and there is no doubt the area is growing tremendously economically. Fracking is safe, and its impact on the state economy needs to take center-stage. If monitoring of the process is close, then fracking can prove to be among the best and feasible methods of providing oil and gas to the US. The relationship between fracking and use of water is quite complicated. The truth is fracking may use much water in the extraction of the oil and the gas. On the other hand, the gas is used to replace nuclear power and coal in industries generate electricity in that the whole process ends up saving water. There should be fewer critics of franking in regard to water intake as seen in this discussion. Fracking is primarily the reason the US is having enjoying an energy revolution right now. It has changed the American picture from one of scarcity to overabundance. Shale and fracking, according to the International Energy Agency projects could see the US become the leading oil producer by the last quarter of 2015 (Yetiv 23). In the case of natural gas, the country is already the highest producer on the planet according to the US Energy Information Administration (EIA). Estimates from EIA show that the production of natural gas in the US will increase 56% due to production from shale deposits. With such increase, the US global market share will have risen to over 53 percent from the current 40 percent. Simply put, it is fracking that is driving the US energy revolution now and in the near future (Yetiv 43). Fracking and the Environment In spite of all the advantages, fracking remains among the most controversial issues in the society today. In large part because of the proven damage and the purported negative impact the process has on the environment. Experts link its effects on the environment, and pollution to congenital defects to children born nearby the wells, elevated cancer risks, and indications of well workers having higher rates of silicosis. Earthquakes have also been linked to fracking too. Still, the possibilities that fracking will stop anytime soon are minimal. In this regard, whatever people should do is reduce the negative impact the process has on the environment and making the process more sustainable in regard to how much water is used during the drilling process. Fracking a single well can use up anywhere between 2 to 20 million gallons of fresh water. Another 25 percent of which is used for operations such as drilling and extraction. Water expenditure varies with each country where fracking occurs. In Texas, for example, it represents less than 1 percent of total water used. Crops use 56 percent while municipalities 26 percent. In counties such as those located in the Barnett shale’s, Eagle Ford, and Haynesville, fracking operations use at least 18 percent, 11 percent, and 38 percent of water respectively. Water volume used in relation to the energy generated, known as water intensity, is lower in fracking than in other conventional methods such as the use of other fossil fuels and nuclear. In fact, coal, nuclear, and oil extraction are known to use an about two, three, and ten times, respectively, more water per energy unit while compared to fracking. Corn ethanol can use over a thousand times more water if plants go through irrigation. Fracking and the Economy Fracking has several economic benefits to a country. With the increased application of smart drilling as had been mentioned earlier, since 2005, the US has been able to increase its domestic natural gas and oil production by a staggering 34 percent. This has resulted in having its net imports fall nearly 50 percent in the past seven years. Currently, imports to the country account for only 8 percent of total US natural gas consumption. Reduced reliance on imports is advantageous to any country. In fact, most countries do not progress economically due to having too much to import. The US has improved over the past few years as there are a trade balance and the stimulated economy as the country’s domestic supply has grown to meet the demand. Since the advent of smart drilling, there are thousands of new jobs that have been created across the US which is a step toward dealing with unemployment. In 2012, for example, fracking supported over 360, 000 direct jobs, and another 537,000 indirect supply industry Rabe 322). An estimated 850,000 induced jobs were backed by fracking through the workers spending their wages in the general economy as they visit dentists’ offices, grocery stores, auto dealerships, and movie theaters and so on. Projections show that by 2020, the direct jobs will have increased to a total of 600, 000 in direct jobs, 900, 000 indirect jobs, and over 1.5 million induced jobs (Rabe 325). The Future of Fracking There is no way oil or energy, in general, will become enough for the world or reach a place where there is no demand for oil. The commodity fuels every economy in the world which, and since economies are only developing, energy will remain to see increasing demand. Initially, fracking was less frequent and was thought to be very costly. It is this reason that deterred companies from using it to drill oil from shale deposits. Over the past decade, there have been remarkable innovations in hydraulic fracturing some of which include increased lengths both vertically and laterally and development of new completion designs. The designs have seen an increase in fracture strategies along the borehole and perforations between the dependent cluster stages. In future, improvement in saving on the cost required for recovering oil and natural gas. The drilling and production programs will also become more efficient than they ever were. Companies will now focus on increasing output through increasingly the number of wells per pad. Conclusion Oil and natural gas are crucial commodities in the world today. Countries endowed with this natural product have better chances of economic development as it is the most valuable commodity in running of industries, and indeed the most expensive is a country were to import it. The US had been sitting on oil for quite a long time. The fact that the commodity occurs in shale deposits was a big turnoff for the country as the fracking techniques in the market were not feasible enough to ensure good financial returns. The improvement in fracking techniques has sent him country energy as a formidable force in energy productions. With the high natural gas witnessed lately, the country is guaranteed to save on excessive water usage as it will replace nuclear and coal in generating electricity. It will also create over a million jobs both directly and indirectly and help support the economy through exports and saving on foreign exchange. If well done, fracking can reduce greenhouse gas emission. It will also bridge going green in terms of adopting clean energy such as natural gas in place of coal. Works Cited Baumeister, Christiane, and Lutz Kilian. "Understanding the Decline in the Price of Oil since June 2014." (2015). Burton, G. Allen, et al. "Hydraulic “Fracking”: Are surface water impacts an ecological concern?." 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