More on Fracking: Hydraulic Fracturing For Natural Gas Development Gets Added Regulatory Scrutiny US Congress May Undo Cheney's «Fracing» Exemption Tracer
In The Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid: Accountability For...
The chemicals used
in hydraulic fracturing fluid are considered proprietary, and the magnitude and frequency of water - contamination events are not well - documented.
Not exact matches
Though the
fluids were natural and not the byproduct of drilling or
hydraulic fracturing, the finding further stokes the red - hot controversy over fracking
in the Marcellus Shale, suggesting that drilling waste and chemicals could migrate
in ways previously thought to be impossible.
That surge has coincided
in time and place with the boom
in unconventional oil and gas extraction such as
hydraulic fracturing, or «fracking,»
in which high - pressure
fluid is injected into the ground to break up the underlying rock and release trapped gas or oil.
Other human activites linked to seismic activity include
hydraulic fracturing,
in which a water mixture gets pumped underground to break up rocks and release gas, and
fluid withdrawal, which can refer to the withdrawal of oil and gas, groundwater or hot water / steam for geothermal power, the USGS says.
Previous studies have shown that fracking
fluids contain high levels of salts, barium and radioactive elements,
in addition to human - made chemicals added
in the process of
hydraulic fracturing.
Even
in a seemingly implausible accidental - release scenario
in which all of a well's
hydraulic fracturing fluid and untreated wastewater were discharged directly into surface waters for the lifetime of the well, shale - gas electricity had a lower lifetime human toxicity impact, or HTI, than coal electricity, according to the study.
Of particular concern were compounds called adamantanes, a natural hydrocarbon found
in gas that can be used to fingerprint its origin, and 2 - BE, listed as a common
fracturing fluid in the EPA's 2004 research report on
hydraulic fracturing.
«The presence of synthetic compounds such as glycol ethers... and the assortment of other organic components is explained as the result of direct mixing of
hydraulic fracturing fluids with ground water
in the Pavillion gas field,» the draft report states.
But according to a panel of geologists at the AAAS Annual Meeting, the culprit isn't
hydraulic fracturing, or «fracking,»
in which geologists crack open subsurface rocks to extract oil and gas; instead, it's the processes associated with pumping wastewater and other
fluids back into the ground.
Fracking — or
hydraulic fracturing — is a process
in which rocks are deliberately
fractured to release oil or gas by injecting highly pressurised
fluid into a borehole.
They looked both at wells used for enhanced oil recovery —
in which
fluid is injected to flush lingering oil from a depleted reservoir — and at those used to dispose of wastewater from conventional oil and gas extraction or from
hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
Modeling changes
in the observed harmonic frequencies indicates that the spectral characteristics of seismic data can provide important information about
hydraulic fracture geometry and
fluid pressure at depth, leading to important insights into subglacial hydrologic processes.
When
hydraulic fracturing or «fracking» to access unconventional oil and gas reserves was a hot topic
in the fossil fuel industry, Ryerson was tapped to lead a team to develop GEOS — a dynamic computational rock mechanics and hydrologic tool — that can model facture propagation, resulting seismic signals and pressure - driven
fluid flow through a rock mass.
However, other mechanisms such as
fluid withdrawal, enhanced oil recovery, or
hydraulic fracturing processes can also result
in induced earthquakes.»
In work that offers insight into the magnitude of the hazards posed by earthquake faults in general, seismologists have developed a model to determine the size of an earthquake that could be triggered by the underground injection of fluids produced as a by - product of hydraulic fracturin
In work that offers insight into the magnitude of the hazards posed by earthquake faults
in general, seismologists have developed a model to determine the size of an earthquake that could be triggered by the underground injection of fluids produced as a by - product of hydraulic fracturin
in general, seismologists have developed a model to determine the size of an earthquake that could be triggered by the underground injection of
fluids produced as a by - product of
hydraulic fracturing.
The injection of the
hydraulic fracturing fluids creates channels for flow
in the formations (often shale formations), allowing methane and other hydrocarbon gases and liquids
in the formation to migrate to the production well.
According to the Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, during the first half of 2013
in the Marcellus shale play, 90 percent of the more than 14 million barrels of produced
fluids from
fracturing was reused.12 That represents a significant savings
in the amount of new water needed for
hydraulic fracturing elsewhere, and illustrates the industry's focus on environmental issues and efforts to reduce the impacts of energy development on resources and communities.
The shale energy surge also is spurring innovation: waterless
hydraulic fracturing fluid, methods to decontaminate and recycle water used
in fracking and more.
Ohio is
in the final stages of making an Exxon trojan horse on hydrofracking into state law, and it appears that the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) connected Exxon's lawyers with co-sponsors of Ohio Senate Bill 315: at least 33 of the 45 Ohio legislators who co-sponsored SB 315 are ALEC members, and language from portions of the state Senate bill is similar to ALEC's «Disclosure of
Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Composition Act.»
Three company spokesmen and a regulatory official said
in separate interviews with ProPublica that as much as 85 percent of the
fluids used during
hydraulic fracturing is being left underground after wells are drilled
in the Marcellus Shale, the massive gas deposit that stretches from New York to Tennessee.
The result is a 60 - page Watershed Plan [5](PDF) that dictates that Genesis will only use «green»
hydraulic fracturing fluids, will reveal the chemical makeup of those
fluids and will inject a tracer along with those
fluids so any alleged contamination
in the area can be quickly linked to its source.
The method combines a new form of horizontal drilling with
hydraulic fracturing — more commonly known as fracking GThe process blasts open fissures
in underground shale - rock formations by injecting a high pressure combination of
fluids, chemicals and proppants causing the fossil fuel to flow to the production well.