How shale gas extraction works
Energy prospectors could be eyeing up sites in rural Shropshire as the Government prepares to sell licences for gas exploration.
The area between Ellesmere and Whitchurch is believed to be rich in deposits of shale gas, which could attract energy firms when drilling licences are dished out.
Shale gas is a natural gas trapped within sedimentary rock. It is extracted by horizontal drilling or a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracing, where the pressure from fluids is used to break the rock to set the gas free.
Potential operators will need a licence from the Department for Energy and Climate Change, the authority of the landowner and local authority planning permission.
No bids have in come in for Shropshire sites so far.
This video illustrates the hydraulic fracturing process commonly used by one firm, Cuadrilla Resources, in its shale exploration projects.
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All with full consideration of the environmental consequences – fracking is not exactly environmentally friendly and the process has the potential to ruin (poison) the area and beyond.
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Isn’t fracking the process that has lead to some reports of flammable tap water?
Sounds really safe and environmentally friendly.
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Too right DavidB. The process is responsible for lots of earthquakes in Eastern USA in an area previously regarded as free of earthquakes. Some of these have been substantial (5.6, can bring down buildings). Water is injected into the shale horizons under pressure, and polution by released hydrocabons into the groundwater has been blamed in the USA for people’s tap water spontaneously bursting into flame. People in Arkansas, West Virginia and Texas are campaigning for the process to be controlled by the state. Besides all these science fiction results, the process apparently requires a concentration of drills across the landscape, I’ve seen at least every kilometre quoted. These wells do not produce for very long (2 or 3 years)before a new one is required into adjacent shales. It has already been banned in France ahead of any exploration. Not clean, not nice, not sustainable!
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Yes it has led to flammable tap water and the contamination of the water table.
Not where i want my energy to come from.
Also a few earth tremors are rumoured to have been caused by fracking in the lancashire area.
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Just look at the following UK website for details on the level of destruction and environmental damage that fracking does.
http://frack-off.org.uk/
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The flammable tap water in the so called documentary “Gaslands” is actually from biogenic methane – a completely different source to shale gas and a natural occurance.
5.6 Magnitude earthquakes related to hydraulic fraccing – show me some evidence USGS site doesn’t support that.
Dangerous chemicals used to frac – water and sand.
Wells are typically short duration for drilling (<60 days) then a small well head left installed to produce from. Production curves show rapid depletion from an inital high rate to a longer term low rate of production. Well density does need to be high but multiple lateral wells from the same well head should minimise this.
Its a shame the only publicity seems to be from eco scare mongers who would have us living in caves if they had their way.
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Doesn’t matter what type of methane, point is that it is released by creating a massive disturbance under the ground – ie fracking. This study found widespread methane contamination of groundwater in Pennsylvania clearly caused by fracking: http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/05/study-high-tech-gas-drilling-is-.html?ref=hp
Dangerous chemicals are used to frack, although low percentage in the mix, millions of gallons of the mix are used, so it’s still a lot of them that go down (and only about half come back up the pipe). In addition, it’s the trapped chemicals in the ground that are released which are a huge problem.
Finally, fracking is a complete step in the wrong direction for our energy policy, carbon reduction targets and climate change. It will stop investment into renewables where it is really needed. Remember that if we have any chance of stopping the worst effects of climate change most non-renewables neeed to stay in the ground!
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Free heating from my tap without paying excessive sums to the likes of major power companies. If only:(
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