DISCUSSION FACTS:
DATES BEGAN: INGRAFFEA INFORMATION
Original conventional hydro fracturing began in 1947
Unconventional High Pressure High Volume Slick Water Hydro Fracturing
This methodology began in 1996(slick water), changed in 2002(frack fluid) and 2007(all 4 parts combined, long laterals, slick water, frack fluids, multiwell pads) to the system used now.
Takes 5.5 - 7.8 millions gallons of fresh water + the .05% toxic chemicals
High Volume: thousands of horsepower to force fluid thru 6” dia. Pipe @ 10,000 LBS per sq. inch
Slick water - needed to control amount of pressure, to reduce friction of water molecules
Multi-Well Pads: up to 30 per pad, approx 1 mile in diameter, dictated by geology, gas co + whose leasing land
FRACTURING
Frack Fluids, methane and radiation travel once released from the fractured shale. They travel through fractures, faults, strata communication - further and further with each frack.
MICROSEISMIC IMAGING REVEALS FRACTURE BEHAVIOR
From research paper “Fracs Tracked Using Microseismic Images 9/18/03-rev.12/17/08
Authors: S.C. Maxwell and T.I. Urbancic, ESG International, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. N. Steinsberger, Devon Energy, Fort Worth, Texas and R. Zinno, Schlumberger, Houston, Texas.
“Hydraulic fracture geometries are difficult to predict. Even in environments with relatively simple fracture geometries, hydraulic fractures can grow asymmetrically, have variable confinement across geologic horizons, and change orientation.
“The microseismic imaging project undertaken by Devon Energy in its Barnett Shale field to monitor fracture growth during hydraulic stimulation revealed a complexity of interplay between the hydraulic and natural fractures previously unimagined.”
From Schlumberger's publication “Oilfield Review,” Winter 2005/2006
Article “The Source For Hydraulic Fracture Characterization, p.46.
"While it is possible to have a good understanding of existing natural fracture systems, our ability to determine hydraulic fracture geometry and characteristics has been limited. Geologic discontinuities such as fractures and faults can dominate fracture geometry in a way that makes predicting hydraulic fracture behavior difficult. Clearly, the exploration and production (E&P) industry still has much to learn about hydraulic fractures."
CEMENT FAILURES
CHRONIC KNOWN ISSUES: CASING FAILURE PROBLEMS, FREQUENTLY (1), (2) & (3)
Migration of flowback fluids along cement and rock
Loss of bond (cement and casing)
Diffusion of fluids - inaccurate cement mixtures
Fracture of cement
Rupture of casing
Cement well plug failure
(1)Journal of Petroleum Technology June 1989
(2)Why Oilwells Leak: Cement Behavior and Long-Term Consequences, Society of Petroleum Engineers Interntl. Oil and Gas Conf. and Exhibition, 2000
(3)Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Become Pollution Portals, R. Suro - New York Times, May 1992
shale gas wells is that these are works designed for a very short lifespan: the years of the well exploitation.
A working well has a life of 3-5 years. (8)Marc Durand
classic gas reservoirs, up to 95% of the natural gas is captured.
shales, recoveries are expected to be around 20% because of low permeabilities despite high-density horizontal drilling and extensive hydraulic fracturing.“ (4)
(4)National Energy Board, A Primer for Understanding Canadian Shale Gas 2009 http://www.nebone.gc.ca/clfnsi/rnrgynfmtn/nrgyrprt/ntrlgs/prmrndrstndngshlgs2009/prmrndrstndngshlgs2009-eng.pdf
International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition in China, Beijing
7-10 Nov 2000
Explanatory mechanisms include channeling, poor cake removal, shrinkage, and high cement permeability. The reason is probably cement shrinkage that leads to circumferential fractures that are propagated upward by the slow accumulation of gas under pressure behind the casing.
Portland Class G (API rating) oil well cement forms the base of almost all oil well cements. Generally, slurries are placed at densities about 2.0 Mg/m3, but at such low densities will shrink and will be influenced by the elevated pressures (10-70 MPa) and temperatures (35 to >140°C) encountered at depth.(8)
(8)Society of Petroleum Engineers Inc. ISBN 978-1-55563-907-5-MSMaurice B. Dusseault, Porous Media Research Institute, University of Waterloo; Malcolm N. Gray, Atomic Energy of Canada Limited; Pawel A. Nawrocki, CANMET Source
2) The drilling of wells and the fracturing of the homogeneous rock is a totally irreversible operation with no technical solution to restore the the shale to its original impermeable state. These gas wells closed off at the end of commercial exploitation become potential conduits for the gas leaks. For these structures, as all structures made of steel and concrete, there is the fundamental question of their life span – from which follows the question of what will happen when their state of degradation can no longer withstand the pressure of the gas. This pressure in the reservoir will grow slowly but continually while the well structures will continue to degrade. These two phenomenon will in time become manifest on the surface in the growing number and increasing flow of methane leaks. The management of these buried works will cost colossal sums.(8)
(8)Dr. Marc Durand, Professeur dépt. Sciences de la terre, UQAM The Exploitation of Conventional Gas Wells vs. Exploitation by Extended Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing
WHAT GOES IN:
5.6 - 8 million gallons of drinkable water. NAT GAS ind. .05% chemicals(INGRAFFEA)
6.5 mill x .05= 325,000 gallons toxic chemicals used during the nat gas extraction.
1 line is 1 mile long, each frac is done in 500 ft sections, so that is 11 fracs = 97mill gals (97,075,000)
13 lines in a pad = 1.3billion gal water made undrinkable forever(1,261,975,000)
20 wells in 1 year = 25.2billion gal water made undrinkable forever (25,239,500,000 )
WHAT COMES BACK UP
When fracturing process is completed frac pressure released, frac fluid backflows to well head 10-50% (O&G Industry lowballs this number) (1)
(40% by industry standards)40% of 325,000 is 130,000 gal.
Flowback Fluids/Produced Water contain:
-High Saline - could produce 27 tons per year (4)
-Heavy Metals (barium, strontium, chromium, arsenic, lead) elements that are incredibly toxic to humans in low concentrations
-RADIIOACTIVE Radium 226 and Radon 222 -in some cases 1,000 times more than permitted by federal drinking water standards (New York Times Feb 2011)
Continued toxic concentration of chemicals used
Creates GREATER RISKS of Accidents, Spills, Leakages, Discharges, Exposures to WATER and AIR (1)
ALL WELLS continue to ooze flowback fluid all of its life. When wells go into production, flowback fluid is then called “Produced Water”. It’s the same fluid, just called a different name so that it can now be considered “industrial waste”. (7)
(1) Dr. Anthony Ingraffea; the Facts About Fracking
(2) Dr. Theo Colborn; TEDX Endocrine Disruption Exchange
(3) Chemical and Biological Risk Assessment fro Natural Gas Extraction in New York (36)
(4)Wastewater Recycling No Cure-All Gas Process New York Times
(5)Journal of Petroleum Technology June 1989
(6)Why Oilwells Leak: Cement Behavior and Long-Term Consequences, Society of Petroleum Engineers International Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition, Nov 7, 2000
(7)Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Become Pollution Portals, R. Suro - New York Times, May 1992
AIR EMISSIONS - happens 100% of the time
GROUND LEVEL OZONE(2) is Created by each stage of the production and extraction of methane, fugitive methane, the venting toxic chemicals and the flowback fluids, Volatile Organic Compounds, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons, Nitrogen Oxides, Hydrogen Sulphides, dust particulates, diesel fumes/exhaust, hazardous air pollutants
spreads up to 200 miles beyond the immediate region where gas is being produced (U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment 1989; Roberts 2008)
Creates chronic and long-term organ and system damage
Inhaled, ingested, and absorbed thru the skin
89% of these chemicals can harm the eyes, skin, sensory organs, respiratory tract, gastrointestinal tract, or liver.
81% cause harm to the brain and nervous system.
71% percent of the volatile chemicals harm the cardiovascular system and blood
66% harm the kidneys(1)
EPA has stated that well blowouts, line releases, extinguished flares, collection of sour gas in low lying areas, line leakage, and leakage from abandoned wells are all sources of documented accidental releases which have affected the public not just industry workers(3)
Emissions of hydrogen sulphide, an extremely toxic gas and exposure can lead to coma and death(3)
(1)Dr. Theo Colborn, TEDX
(2)CH2MHILL 2007; Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment 2007; URS 2008; U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment 1989.
(3)Dr. Eric London, “Hydraulic Fracturing Study--Comments” Sept 7, 2010
WHAT HAPPENS TO THE FLOWBACK FLUID/PRODUCED WATER?
RECYCLING FLOWBACK FLUIDS:
There is NO way to recycle, take out the chemicals and radioactivity in the ‘produced water’ to bring it back to a drinkable state. There is NO Wastetreatment Plant in New York state that can process the flowback fluids/produced water to make it non-toxic, safe, or potable/drinkable again -ever. NO MATTER WHAT the NATGAS co. promise!
From CHESAPEAKE: RECYCLING TECHNOLOGY
“Why can’t the water generated from natural gas production be recycled?
Most of the water generated from natural gas production contains too many naturally occurring minerals, such as salt, to be recycled effectively. There has been some success in recycling the first 5% (16,250 gal of 325,000 gal)of produced water during flowback operations. However, by the end of the first few days after fracing (and in some cases a few hours), salt content of the produced water can reach as high as 70,000 parts per million (ppm), more than twice the salinity of seawater (30,000 ppm). The majority (95%) of the produced water returned from the well, with its high salt content, is too saturated to make recycling currently economically viable. “
http://www.askchesapeake.com/MarcellusShale/NY/Water/Pages/SaltwaterDisposalWells.aspx
WASTETREATMENT PLANT IN:
Indiana Cty: Penn. Brine Treatment Inc. Josephine Facility
released in BLACKLICK CREEK From flowback fluid/produced water:
Barium concentrations 27 times higher than the EPA safety standard
Strontium: 745 mcl times over epa safety standard, 1560 times the mrl epa safety standard
Bromide: 10,699 ppb times over the safety standards
Benzene: safety is 5ppb, it was exceeded by 24 times the safety standard (Benzene is banned from drinking water by the EPA at levels above 5parts per billion.)
2-butoxyethanol (glycol ether) 165 times over the acute MRL standard and 942 time the intermediate MRL standard (MRL - minimum risk levels)
Magnesium:24,950 times over safety standards
CHLORIDES: 511 times over safety
ECONOMICS:
SHOW BANKING INFO:
Bank Memo
Mortgage Issues/Title Insurance Issues
Keystone Research Proved:
Nat Gas Ind. Claims brought in 88,000 jobs into Penn.
FACT:Less than 10,000 jobs in 4 years
1 out of 59 jobs - core or ancillary positions
June and July Unemployment numbers in Penn. Highest in 30 years.
BOOMBUST The Impact of West Virginias Energy Economy July 2011
A Legacy of Booms and Busts in Mining/Gas Extraction Counties
Median Household Incomes Are Lower in Extraction Counties
Family Poverty Rates Are Higher in Extraction Counties (17)
(17)Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2005-2009 Estimates
Health Outcomes Are Worse in Extraction Counties (18)
(18)Univ. of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, County Health Rankings, 2011
Extraction Counties Disproportionately “At-Risk” or “Distressed”
The classification system compares each county’s three-year average unemployment rate, per capita market income, and poverty rate with national averages.19
(19) Source and Methodology: Distressed Designation and County Economic Status Classification System
Extraction Counties Lack Economic Diversity(26)
(26) Census Bureau, County Business Patterns
Extraction Counties Have Lower Education Levels(27)
(27) Bureau of Labor Statistics
Extraction Counties Have High Income Inequality(30)
(30)Academic Literature on the relationship between income distribution and economic growth; atar.mscc.huji.ac.il/~melchior/html/Income%20Distribution.htm
(17) Census Bureau, American Community Survey, 2005-2009 Estimates
(18) Univeristy of Wisconsin Population Health Institute, County Health Rankings, 2011
(19) Source and Methodology: Distressed Designation and County Economic Status Classification System
(26) Census Bureau, County Business Patterns
(27) Bureau of Labor Statistics
(30)Academic Literature on the relationship between income distribution and economic growth; atar.mscc.huji.ac.il/~melchior/html/Income%20Distribution.htm
WHAT GOES WRONG FROM ABOVE
Spills, ruptures, seepage of drilling fluids, frack chemicals, flowback fluids - ALL go where they don’t belong - FREQUENTLY (1)
(1) Dr. Anthony Ingraffea; the Facts About Fracking
WATER CONTAMINATION
“Environmental Protection Agency concluded in a 1987 study that “fracking” of a natural gas well in West Virginia contaminated an underground drinking water source. That all-but-forgotten report to Congress, uncovered by Environmental Working Group and Earthjustice, found that fracturing gel from a shale gas well more than 4,000 feet deep had contaminated well water.”
2004 EPA study is routinely used to dismiss complaints that hydraulic-fracturing fluids might be responsible for the water problems
EPA negotiated directly with the gas industry before finalizing those conclusions
within the 424-page report are statements explaining that fluids migrated unpredictably and that some of the chemicals involved "can cause kidney, liver, heart, blood, and brain damage through prolonged or repeated exposure." It found that as much as a third of injected fluids, benzene in particular, remains in the ground after drilling and is “likely to be transported by groundwater."(10)
Drilling process causes water supply alarm By Abrahm Lustgarten ProPublica11-17-09
States listed with cases of contaminated drinking water:
Wyoming
Colorado
West Virginia
Ohio
Texas
New Mexico
Alabama
Pennsylvania
10 counties in Penn have contaminated water wells.
Bradford county alone had 91 drinking wells contaminated.
2009 Longest known plume has gone 28 miles (Sublette, Wy)containing benzene at levels 1,500 times the epa safety level for human exposure. 88 of 220 (40%)waterwells contaminated.Drilling process causes water supply alarm By Abrahm Lustgarten
ProPublica11-17-09
Gas has seeped into underground drinking-water supplies in at least five states, including Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas and West Virginia(1)
A strong flow of gas was encountered about 2,600 feet below ground. The well bore became pressurized causing methane migration. Manifestations included a pond and residential water well in the area. 12 families were evacuated from their homes. The State Supreme Court in Cattaraugus County awarded damages to affected individuals in April 2005. It took 9 years to award damages.(6)
Baseline tests on Zimmermann's water a year before drilling began were "perfect," he said. In June, water tests found arsenic at 2,600 times acceptable levels, benzene at 44 times above limits and naphthalene five times the federal standard. Soil samples detected mercury and selenium above official limits, as well as ethylbenzene, a chemical used in drilling, and trichloroethene, a naturally occurring but toxic chemical that can be brought to the surface by gas drilling(5)