Drill Bits: Revisiting the Hydro-Fracking Debate

Originally published in July of 2011, we are republishing this introductory article to offer information for Western New Yorkers wishing to get involved with hydro-fracking issues. To find out more about what is going on today, read this article by Sierra Club member Art Klein and visit the webpages for Western New York environmental organizations that are involved with this issue.

An introduction to hydro-fracking, a debated drilling process used to harvest natural gas deep within the earth.

Hydro-what?

$fracking_1$
Graphic by Al Granberg, Pro Publica

Hydraulic Fracturing (known in the media as “fracking” and in the drilling business as “frac’ing”) is the process used to extract natural gas and oil that are contained within certain rock formations under the earth’s surface. Marcellus Shale is one of these rock formations that lies underneath the southern tier of New York State, much of Pennsylvania, and parts of Ohio and West Virginia. The Marcellus Shale is commonly targeted for hydraulic fracturing.

Here is a grossly over-simplified description of the process of hydraulic fracturing without getting into all of the confusing details:

Step 1: A wellbore (a fancy word for a “hole”) is drilled from the surface of the earth to the rock layer which holds the natural resource, sometimes 10,000 feet in depth.

Step 2: Hundreds of thousands to more than a million gallons of water per well are mixed with sand and chemicals, and pumped with intense high pressure into the wellbore in order to “crack” the surface of the rock. The natural gas inside is then accessible to drillers.

$fracking_2$ Step 3: The gas escapes from these cracks, or “fissures,” which are now propped open by the sand particles, and it rises to the surface through the borehole.

Step 4: The gas is collected and becomes part of the natural gas supply, and water that can be recovered from the activity is treated for contamination or recycled to use in later fracking operations.

The purpose of this extraction technique is to add to the reserve of natural gas at our disposal. Natural gas is used for all kinds of things like powering electric plants; making plastics, fertilizer, anti-freeze and fabrics; residential, commercial and industrial heating, cooking, and water heating; and residential clothes drying.

Why is there a debate about Hydraulic Fracturing?

Many people are concerned with the process of hydraulic fracturing. To understand the debate about fracturing, one most understand many elements of the process and how these processes compare to other methods of energy production or for reducing energy use. First, there are things that need to be considered in the construction of every well, such as the location of the drilling operation, how many roads need to be paved to get there, the amount of truck drivers needed, what permits to acquire, how much the operation will cost, the chemicals to be used, the presence of a drinking water supply, and more. These factors can lead to outcomes that for some people make the process clearly unacceptable, where for others the benefits outweigh the costs. The involved issues cut across issues of science and society and are far from some simple.

The current debate on hydraulic fracturing is often portrayed as between the oil and gas industry and environmentalists, but this is a simplification. Some environmentalists see increases in natural gas production as a way to move away from coal. Coal’s negative environmental impacts are clearly documented raising the question of whether natural gas can serve as a transition fuel. Natural gas clearly burns cleaner than coal and also releases less carbon dioxide when burned. However, natural gas (methane), itself is a powerful greenhouse gas and if it is released to the atmosphere through leaks, it’s global warming effects will be substantial.

Common people fall on both sides of the debate – landowners both worry about the environment and see the economic potential for developing the resource. Rural New York suffers from high unemployment and, if the Marcellus is open to development, jobs will be created. Again, the issue is not simple as most jobs will be during the early phases of development and then are likely to diminish in number over time.

Some people point to evidence in and around their homes when arguing against the process. People say that there are negative environmental and health effects from fracking. These people often point to Pennsylvania for examples of the negative impact.

Pro-Fracking

Proponents of hydraulic fracturing say that fracking:

Reduces our dependence on foreign fuel
Reduces our reliance on coal
Creates jobs and stimulates the economy
Engineers are seeking to minimize fluid leakages and other impacts of hydraulic fracturing upon the surrounding environment. Improvements are being sought and implemented by the industry.

Anti-Fracking

Opponents of hydraulic fracturing point to:

Water consumption and contamination
Degradation of and interference with our wild, outdoor places
Human health risks
Deviation from companies exploring “clean energy”
Split estate issues: landownership rights vs. mineral ownership rights

What does this issue have to do with Western New York?

Marcellus and Utica Shales exist underneath human activity throughout Western New York, but primarily in the southern portion of the region there have been claims by rural homeowners that they’ve been approached by individuals from the natural gas industry about drilling on their properties. Allegany State Park was on the list for natural gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing, but environmentalists and Allegany residents fought to keep the industry away from that land.

Get Involved with Organizations in WNY:

References & Further Reading:

Special thanks to Heidi Jones, a Board Member of the Marcellus Shale Community Education Team who provided an immense amount of insight and resources on the subject, and to Don Duggan-Haas, from The Paleontological Research Institute’s Museum of the Earth, for his edits and comments.

Dave Bradley ¦

Sunday 17 July, 2011

Nice article. One thing that you might also want to discuss are things like fraud, lies to investors, asset play and high real costs combined with present low prices. There is also the high methane leakage rate compared to normal gas wells, leading to intense Greenhouse Gas pollution. When this methane gets mined/burned, it is actually more of a Global Climate change threat (for the initial 20 years) than is coal. After 20 years, 75% of the leaked methane has been oxidized by O2 and UV light to CO2 (10 year half life). And for several sites in the Marcellus Shale, the methane has a high Radon content, and must be aged for about 60 days (20 half-lives for the Radon drops the initial level to "background" radioactivity. Lastly, there is the fact that once the money has been blown on fracking and drilling (and assuming proper waste disposal is done, which may be a bold assumption), it can't be used for renewables like wind turbines. I guess that qualifies as an "oops", too.

DB

JOHN CUNNINGHAM ¦

Thursday 22 September, 2011

There misdiagnosing children in fracking areas with an increase of asthma, they need to also look at Reactive Airways caused by breathing chemicals, acts like asthma but has different TRIGGERS and more savere effects and there is no cure It's LIFE LONG. I know I have both form being lied to about the chemicals I was breathing on my job. Parents beware the perfume, sented soap, colonges, you use can be causing your child problems and can triger Reactive Airways !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

adrixmerkado ¦

Thursday 9 February, 2012

well written article - Did you know that the tool to drill in that hydro is core bit drill? core bits are designed with a high diamond concentration for ior cutting performance, enhanced productivity, and longevity. Because of its hollow center, core bits can easily bore a circle in any aggregate material to create a hole.

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