Fracking Process Peculiarities - Essay Example

Fracking Fracking is also known as hydraulic fracturing. It is actually the use of pressurised liquid to fracture a rock. There are several examples of hydraulic fractures that form naturally, such as veins or dikes. However for the case of hydraulic fracturing, water and sand are mixed with some chemicals. This mixture is then injected into a wellbore(under extreme pressure) to make tiny fractures usually less than 1mm.Such types of fluids as, petroleum, gas, uranium-bearing solution and brine water could as well migrate into the well. Afterwards hydraulic pressure is pumped from the well and then tiny grains of sand or aluminum oxide force these fractures open once the rock attains equilibrium. This method is very prevalent in wells for tight oil, shale gas, tight gas and usually hard rock wells and coal seam gas as well. This stimulation of well is usually done once in the lifetime of the well and highly improves fluid removal and productivity of the well. However there has been an increase in movement towards several hydraulic fracturing as the production goes down. This is therefore the process known as fracking, but frac is mostly preferred in the industry to frack, although fracturing is mostly used rather than fracing.For the purposes of this paper we will stick to fracking. Environment aspects of fracking There are several cases or rather impacts of fracturing that have been brought forth as regards the environment. These include; noise pollution, diseases such as cancer, contamination of underground water, the potential mismanagement of waste and last but not least the potential movement of gases and chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing to the surface. Numerous cases of possible groundwater contamination have been recorded and documented. Several studies have been carried at the US. For instance the EPA has noticed that “contamination of groundwater with such constituents as those found at Pavilion is typically very costly to remediate or rather restore (GAO 1989).”A look into a study from University of Texas Austin done by Charles G.Groat, did not find any direct link that hydraulic fracturing actual injection phase led to contamination of underground water. In this particular study,”fracking” was used to mean only the forcing of fluid under extreme pressure but did not include the nature of fluids, the effect of failed machine, preparations before the injection,spills,events after the injection such as getting rid of waste water. The study analysis points out those issues which happens because of leakage in its fluid or waste storage machine which is not included as part of fracking. Cases of earth quake activity mostly related with the erosion of the rock underneath have been increasing due to fracking. Due to such reasons fracking has come under severe scrutiny by most countries, with some banning it and others protecting or suspending it. Economic Aspect of fracking Fracking has been used as one of the major ways of mining unconventional oil and other hydrocarbon resources. Today most naturally occurring hydrocarbons are extracted by fracking. Thus there are numerous economic benefits to be reaped from the extraction of vast quantities of earlier on unreachable hydrocarbons. The amount of remaining resources of shale gas which can be technically be extracted are estimated to be in the tune of 208 trillion cubic metres,76 trillion cubic metres of tight gas and 47 trillion cubic metres of coal bed methane(International Energy Agency).Normally the formation of these hydrocarbons are less permeable than normal formations gas. Thus according to the geological mechanisms of the formation, certain technologies such as fracking are used.Generally, there are other methods of mining these resources, for example, conventional drilling. However fracking is one of the main methods making their mining economically viable. Thus the multistage fracturing method has enabled the growth of light tight oil and shale gas production in the US and is believed to have done so in other countries with uncommon hydrocarbon resources. It has been estimated by The National Petroleum Council that fracking will finally account for almost 70% of the development of natural gas in Northern America. This is due to the application of the latest technologies by horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing making it possible to redeem fuel and shale gas in economically viable quantities. Without the use of fracking, it is estimated that forty five percent of domestic natural gas mining and seventeen percent of crude oil mining will be lost within a period of half a decade, in the US. Numerous study cases related to the economic benefits of fracking have shown a direct relationship of benefits derived from fracking activities which include; employmet of the local people, support, related businesses, monitoring and analysis. An independent study done by Deller and Schreiber in 2012 analysed the relationship between gas mining and non-oil and community economic welfare. The study found out that there is a direct effect on the growth of incomes, however the researchers discovered that mining did not necessarily lead to growth in employment or population. It is also true that the United States based refineries have had a competitive edge due to their ability to extract relatively cheap shale oil and Canadian crude. Currently the United States is making more exports of refined petroleum products and more liquefied petroleum gas..Thus for instance a tone of Propane costs around $620 in the US in comparison to $1000 per tone in China as of January this year. To fuel power plants, Japan is busy importing LP gas in order to replace obsolete nuclear plants. Legal aspects of fracking Under the US federal law there are several exemptions for fracking. Thus the gas and oil industries are exempt or excluded from many of the major environmental statutes. These statutes range from prevention of poisonous substances and chemicals into the environment and protection of clean air and water. These laws include; National Environmental Policy Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Community Right –to-Know Act, Safety of Drinking Water Act plus the Comprehensive Environmental Response Act, Compensation and Liability Act. Political Aspect of Fracking To help control the fracking industry, legal framework has been developed by a number of governments and zoning limits are being developed by certain municipalities. France in 2011 became the first country to stop fracking. However a few other nations have put in place temporary suspension on the practice.US having the most experience with fracking could provide a very worthwhile approach to hydraulic fracturing which may be adopted by other nations. In England in August 2013, the Church came out openly in a statement and criticized those who have been advocating for blanket opposition to fracking. Real and Total Consequences of unlimited Fracking Fracking normally leads to greenhouse gas emissions and if this continues unchecked, the climate will completely change into something that has not been witnessed on earth since the ere of dinosaurs. Thus there is a possibility of oceans becoming acidified, ice caps would begin melting, the sea levels would rise beyond their normal levels causing submergence of coastlines thus leading to loss of livelihoods and lives, there would be sudden rise in temperatures ,several ecosystems would disappear and there would be complete exhaustion of all the extractible fossil fuels. Comparison of Advantages and Disadvantages of Fracking There are several advantages related to fracking such as the extraction of vast amounts of crude oil and natural gas. America has become the world’s top producer of hydrocarbons, producing more hydrocarbons than either Russia or Saudi Arabia. This is due to the strides it has made in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing or rather fracking technology that has made exploitation of hard to reach shale gas and oil deposits more economically feasible than any other time. Apart from that, fracking has been associated with the creation of jobs thus enabling people to earn an honest livelihood. There has also been immense support from the fracking companies .Ancillary businesses have been established thus boosting the economy. There has also been lots of analysis and monitoring which has availed a great deal of information for use in further studies. However on the other side fracking has also had its share of disadvantages. For instance there have been claims about there being contamination of underground water and also exhaustion of fresh water, air pollution whereby the atmosphere is contaminated by the green house gases. There have also been cases of noise pollution due to the loud noise made by machines while fracturing. Cases of gases migrating and chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing to the surface have been reported and also there has been contamination of the surface from flow-back and spills. There has also been an increase in the number of earthquakes reported due to the erosion of bedrock. These are some of the reasons which have led to some countries, notably including the United Kingdom to more carefully scrutinise and come with a clear focus on regulations. Regulations and Taxing in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Colorado Pennsylvania, Ohio and Colorado are homes to an extensive formation of shale (a type of sedimentary rock that is rich in carbon).This shale has been in the limelight both due to new estimates of the quantity of methane gas believed to be underneath these rocks and also due to the significant environmental issues that have been raised about the type of extraction of gas from the shale commonly known as fracking. In the year 2011 December the Governor Corbett put a signature into a law permitting the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to begin taking steps to safety checks of some natural gas pipelines in the Marcellus Shale regions-by employing inspectors and making new regulations that would bring the state in tandem with the federal rules. However the new safety-inspection and building rules would not apply in the rural interior areas with “gathering” pipelines, which practically join wells with interstate pipes. Since the pipes are in interior remoter areas, the federal safety rules –including everything from steel quality to wielding standards-do not come into play. After this regulation the PUC started enforcing federal safety laws for pipelines systems, but none of these rules comes into play when the pipes are in the most remote areas, referred to as class 1. Pennsylvania is the biggest United States state without any tax on the mining of gas, mainly due to a 2009 Pennsylvania State University, warning that miners would avoid Pennsylvania if new taxes were introduced. This was declared by the lawmakers in the following year when they rejected a 5% tax proposed by the then-Governor Ed Rendell. Apparently this tax would have raked in an estimated $100 million in its first year. There has been much activity concerning legislation in Ohio and from the fact that in August 2012, a bill was tabled before the Ohio house that would require oil and gas producers to present a list of all the chemicals used in the process of fracking. In 2011 Kasich (Ohio Governor) signed a law that would open up state parks and other public lands to fracking. This was very unpopular and seventy percent of Ohioans were opposed to it. Ohio Governor proposed raising the tax to pay for an income tax cut. This will make Ohio rake in $666 million and $1 billion over the next three years. In Colorado Colorado approved a first of its kind legislation on controls on emissions from oil and natural gas operations after a rare coalition of environmental crusaders and energy companies, agreed on measures to curb smog. A legislation early this year seeking to limit the amount of severance tax money local governments could rake in if they banned fracking within their area of jurisdictions failed to sail through its first committee hearing at the Colorado Legislature. The severance tax money which is collected from the production of hydrocarbons in Colorado is usually distributed to local governments statewide. Colorado receives more than $1.6 billion annually in gas and oil taxes. There ought to be more fracking laws in Ohio since there are numerous cases of pollution not only of water but also of environmental encroachment and degradation in state parks and public lands. More legislation on fracking in Ohio will help prevent extensive damage to the environment and in the process protect both the parks and public lands. There are numerous advantages associated with this which include protection and conservation of water resources, ensuring that the citizens of Ohio enjoy clean air and fresh water. If these regulations are done well, then the state stands to create more than two hundred thousand jobs and bring in nearly half a billion in additional revenue. There is a new legislation in the House of Republicans, which hopes to roll out a revised fracking –tax bill, with a slightly higher rate, a bigger income-tax cut and money channeled to places where shale is drilling is most common. Ohio Governor John Kasich last month told GOP leaders that “punny doesn’t work, “and that he would veto any proposal that doesn’t pass “the smell test in terms of what I think is fair.” Thus in conclusion we see that with proper legislation there will be have a more vibrant economy, leading to more energy production which translates to less cost of acquiring the same. The quality of life will also improve tremendously since there will be less pollution of both water and air. Thus there will be a win-win pact for all stakeholders. Thus I believe regulation is a good thing as far as fracking is concerned and this will help have a clear framework of extraction and this will benefit both the oil companies doing business with the state. Clear framework means good business for these companies which translate to more jobs for the locals, and thus improved living standards and safe environment for all. Work Cited Tom, Wilber. Under the Surface:Fracking,Fortunes and the Fate of the Marcellus. New York: Cornell University Press, 2012. John, Graves H. Fracking:Americas Alternative Energy Revolution. Florida: Safe Harbor International Publishing, 2012. Read More