Cracking the Fracking: Everything You Need to Know
CRACKING THE FRACKING TEVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW Fracking is a controversial issue around the world. Although it's a booming industry in the US, it's still in its infancy in the UK. So what's all the fuss about? THE BASICS Short for hydraulic fracturing, the term used to describe the process when oil and gas are extracted from shale rock. FRACKING CONVENTIONAL GAS UNCONVENTIONAL GAS Difficult to reach: rock needs to be hydraulically fractured to let gas escape. Types of unconventional gas include: Easy to explore: drilling results in some immediate flow of oil and gas Coalbed methane Located in coal seams Tight gas Located in Shale gas Located in shale rock pore spaces in sandstone GAT SHALE GAS AND TIGHT GAS HAVE LOW PERMEABILITY (the degree to which pores are connected) PERMEABILITY Permeability is measured in darcys Shale Tight Gas Conventional Gas Gas Brick Salt Fracking works by making rock more Unconventional permeable 1 nanodarcy 1 microdarcy 1 millidarcy 1 darcy HOW IT WORKS Conventional gas Coalbed Shale gas Tight gas Methane Groundwater Reservoir Seal Tight gas held in sandstone Traditional permeable reservoir Horizontal drain Gas migration over geological time THE PROCESS Well is drilled Well is lined with steel casing Well is extended More steel and vertically into the ground. horizontally, to expose the pipe to more rock. cement is used to line the well. and cement. A perforation gun is lowered in and fired to Water, sand and chemicals are pumped at high pressure out through the holes - creating rock fractures. Sand is left in fractures to create holes through the casing and cement to the rock. keep them open when the pump pressure is removed, allowing oil and gas to flow up. QUICK HISTORY Although fracking has been going on for decades - technology improvements in recent years have made the practice viable. Volume Year Event Fluid (US gal.) First experimental case of fracking 1947 1,000 Napalm Kansas Conventional gas First commercial Crude oil case of fracking Oklahoma 1949 1,000 and gasoline First case of Gelled gel fracking Техas 1986 400,000 petroleum First case of slickwater fracking Unconventional gas (tight & shale) 1997 800,000 Slickwater Texas Typical case of horizontal fracking 2008 3,500,000 Slickwater Texas So as fracking gains traction in the UK, what should you know about it? FRACKING IN THE UK the story so far HOW MUCH IS THERE TO BE FRACKED? According to the British Geological Society, estimations for shale gas are: 80 tcf (trillion cubic feet) under the The UK uses about 3 tcf of gas per year. Midland Valley in Scotland 1,300 tcf under the Bowland Shale in Lancashire If Britain could extract 10% of its shale gas deposits, it could hypothetically supply itself with enough energy for 25 years. 4.4bn barrels of shale oil in the Weald Basin in Sussex WHERE MIGHT BE FRACKED? ABOUT HALF THE UK IS AVAILABLE FOR FRACKING: Existing government licenses covering fracking Proposed area for licensing by government WHAT ARE THE ISSUES? ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS Environmental contamination is a risk at all stages of the process: Emissions from gas-processing equipment Spills and leakage from above ground storage Environmental Poor structural exposure to air, ground and water pollutants integrity of well GREENHOUSE-GAS SEISMIC CONCERNS EMISSION CONCERNS In 2011, fracking caused tremors at Preese Hall near In the US, shale has become an additional source of fossil fuel, rather than replacing it. Blackpool. They measured 2.3 and 1.5 on the Richter scale. FA This delayed the launch of the 14th onshore oil and gas licensing round - where companies are given a chance to apply for exclusive search and extraction rights. As North Sea gas dries up, people argue that the UK should focus on renewable energy, rather than staying gas reliant. WHAT'S NEXT? In the UK: In the US: 1 shale gas 52,000 shale gas wells have been drilled well has been tested The greater population density and stronger environmental regulations in the UK and Europe means shale gas will develop differently compared to the US. As drilling operators in the US don't need to disclose what chemicals they use, it's difficult to assess the risks in the long term. FRACKING IS YET TO BE ACCEPTED BY THE PUBLIC. When it comes to providing the UK's energy: 29% of people support fracking 42% of people support nuclear energy 80% of people support renewable energy Fracking may have advantages in securing the country's energy supply, however there are still unknown risks yet to be fully assessed. The debate will continue - only time will tell if the benefits outweigh the costs. SOURCES Q&A: everything you need to know about UK fracking - carbonbrief.org The 'shale gas revolution': developments and changes - chathamhouse.org Prospects for unconventional gas in Europe - eon.com What is unconventional gas? - ouropeunconventionalgas.org If fracking has been happening since 1947 what is there to worry about? - frack-off.org.uk Shale gas: not all it's fracked up to be - foe.co.uk UK fracking map - foe.co.uk DECC public attitudes tracker survey: wave 9 - gov.uk Fracking UK shale: understanding earthquake risk - gov.uk What is the difference between conventional and unconventional gas? - nt.gov.au Britain's shale gas deposits 'could supply country for 25 years' - theguardian.com Three main sources of unconventional gas - total.com What are the differences between conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons? - ukoog.org.uk Drilling and the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) process - ukoog.org.uk Broderick J, Anderson K (2012), Has US shale reduced CO2 emissions?, Tydnall Manchester, University of Manchester. Kovats S, Depledge M, Haines A, Fleming L, Wilkinson P, Shonkoff S & Scovronick N (2014), The health implications of fracking, The Lancet, Volume 383, Issue 9919. Obo O (2013), Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking). ARBTECH
Cracking the Fracking: Everything You Need to Know
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