Hydraulic Fracturing Essays Examples Essays (Examples)

Hydraulic Fracturing

Fracking

Fracking or hydraulic fracturing can be described as a process of drilling deep the earth after which a high pressure water mixture can be directed within the rocks for the gas trapped beneath the sand to be released. The rock is injected with sand, chemical and water at high pressure that will make the gas underneath to flow out on top of the well.

As much as fracking has its advantage to a nation, it also have some negative part of it for example in U.S., it has revolutionized the energy industry, but also prompted environmental concerns.

Advantages

Through fracking drilling firms are able to access resources which are difficult to reach such as gas and oil. Fracking has helped to significantly boost the U.S. domestic oil production as well as driven down gas prices. USA has been provided with gas security for about 100 years, this…

The growing opposition to the shale gas industry has conflicted with the need for domestic independence on energy and a reasonable debate is understandably created. Like a Pandora's box, a great and helpful technology has been afforded to the people of this country in the form of hydraulic fracturing, however this technology must be tempered in order for the true and real benefits to be realized. Debate and opposition on this topic is welcomed and will produce a situation where many interests have been heard and incorporated within the argument. " if the hype turns into reality, then the world energy markets can look forward to floating on clouds of cheap gas, certainly up to 2030, if not beyond, " (p.10).

There is a great deal of literature extant on this topic and is worth exploring to gather a finer appreciation for what is at stake in this shale gas…

Anthropogenic Technologies Such as Fracking on the Environment

The people living in the Midwestern United States and most especially Oklahoma have become increasingly alarmed by the number of earthquakes they have experienced in recent months due to the efforts of the oil and gas industry to extract every last ounce of petroleum from the ground using hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") technologies.. On the one hand, these efforts can be viewed as laudable since they optimize the amount of natural energy available, but on the other hand, these extractions methods have caused unprecedented earthquake activity in regions that have not experienced any earthquakes for more than a century. hat is particularly problematic about these events is the fact that regulatory agencies have failed to implement effective policies that could potentially prevent these manmade disasters. For instance, according to a recent report by Cook (2015), "Although injection induced earthquakes have become commonplace across…

Hydraulic Fracturing ("Fracking")

The Legal and Environment Aspects

Page 3 Introduction / hat is Fracking? / Executive order

Page 4 Department of Energy Advisors

Page 7 Law Student Article -- Let States Regulate

Page 8 European Union on Fracking

Page 8 Legal Action in yoming / California Controversy

Page 9 riter's Opinion on Fracking

Legal Issues in Fracturing

Hydraulic Fracturing -- also commonly referred to as "fracking" -- is a technique for extracting natural gas and oil from the crust of the earth. It has become a controversial program because there are environmental impacts associated with fracking. This paper reports on existing laws and policies in states and at the federal level that have to do with fracking.

hat is Fracking?

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains that hydraulic fracturing creates "fractures in the rock formation that stimulate the flow of natural gas or oil" -- and by creating…

For G&G personnel, it will provide an ability to recognize very early in the evaluation process the potential for fracturing to improve potential target formations, as well as learning what types of formations make the best targets for fracture stimulation.

Hydraulic Fracturing -- Design and reatment

Michael B. Smith • 9 -- 10 February

his 2-day post-conference course provides a sound engineering approach to fracture treatment design. It covers the fundamental principles concerning how hydraulic fracturing treatments can be used to stimulate oil and gas wells. he material also includes a thorough discussion of fluid/proppant selection and ancillary fracturing topics such as how to perforate for a frac treatment and how to select appropriate diagnostics.

Conclusion

he SPE Conference I recently attended from February 6 to 8, 2012, at the Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center, the Woodlands, exas, covered shale fracturing, soft rock fracturing, fracture diagnostics, fracture materials,…

Fracking in Colorado

Hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") is not a new approach to locating and exploiting gas and oil in the United States. It has been used as a strategy since 1949, according to Earthworks, an environmental group. Fracking is a strategy oil and gas companies use to retrieve quantities of oil and gas that are trapped in shales, coalbed formations and other underground areas that have previously been drilled. The environmental impacts of fracking can be significant, especially for neighborhoods and communities that are near to the fracking project. In Colorado there are a number of controversies surrounding the process of fracking, and this paper reviews those issues and proposes solutions to those issues.

hat is Fracking? How does it ork?

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is presently studying fracking to determine if the current tactics used by oil and gas companies are having negative impacts on water resources in…

Legal Issues in Hydraulic Fracturing

Energy is major driving factor in all daily activities, from home use to industries. There are various sources of energy, the major one being natural gas and petroleum. Throughout the years, methods of harvesting these forms of energy have been met by many challenges. However, with the advancing steps made in technology as a field, new ways of harvesting the petroleum and gas energy have been designed and modified over time. It is in this line that the hydraulic fracturing method of getting access to these fuels was developed.

Hydraulic fracturing is the process of introduction of fractures in a rock layer by use of a pressurized fluid. Naturally, hydraulic fractures usually form and occur as veins or dikes. Artificial hydraulic fracturing is also known as hydro fracturing or fracing. It is used to retrieve petroleum, natural gas and other substances from their underground reservoir…

Legal Issues in Hydraulic Fracturing

This study provides a comprehensive elaboration of the legal implications of hydraulic fracturing. Moreover, it reviews the environmental issues associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing. The role of hydraulic fracturing in the United States energy needs is also reviewed. Some of the environmental issues raised concerning the process include ground water contamination, chemical implications as well as air contamination. The legal issues handled include the absence of adequate regulations within the national environmental laws framework that govern hydraulic fracturing (Tiemann, & Vann, 2011).

Legal issues

The current trends in the federal regulatory process, in the country are contained in the underground injection control program. However, the legal framework fails to articulate the requirements for the hydraulic fracturing activities clearly. This exemption at the national level allows for the continued use of a process that has negative implications t the environment. On several accounts, proposed…

Pennsylvania Act 13? Compare it to Vermont's May 2012 legislation: http://www.leg.state.vt.us/docs/2012/Bills/Intro/H-464.pdf Compare these with the New York State decision on local control of fracking found in Doc Sharing at.

The Pennsylvania Act 13 of 2012 provides tougher environmental standards, and authorizes local governments to assess an impact fee on fracking operations but is otherwise intended to facilitate the extraction of natural gas from unconventional sources. The Act's provisions include (a) increased setback requirements for unconventional gas development; (b) enhanced protection of water supplies; and (c) strong, uniform, consistent statewide environmental standards. Based on this framework, Pennsylvania seeks to ensure the responsible development of these important resources. By contrast, the New York State decision on local control of fracking In re Cooperstown Holstein Corp. v. Town of Middlefield made it clear that the local communities retain jurisdiction over the roads that facilitate access to energy sources, but the New York State…

Legislative History of Fracking

Legislative history is a term used to refer to the background or events that contribute to the enactment of a statute (Taylor, p.1).  This process includes various activities and/or events such as committee reports, hearings, and floor debates.  Apart from referring to events leading to the enactment of a law, legislative history is usually documented so that it can be utilized in the future to help in the interpretation of a law.  Generally, legislative history provides a suitable foundation for understanding what was involved in the formulation and enactment of a statute.  An example of an issue with a strong legislative history in the United States is hydraulic fracking, which is commonly known as fracking.  This paper examines the legislative history of fracking in the United States and part of policy writing and analysis.  The evaluation includes a brief description of the historical/political context of the…

Hydraulic fracturing can be compared and contrasted in sharply different manners; rhetoric on both sides can go over the edge, and oftentimes such extreme rhetoric ensures that any type of sane or rational discussion is rendered virtually impossible. Opponents have gone so far as to call hydraulic fracturing an "abnormally dangerous activity" (inaldi, 2015, p. 388) while proponents often argue that additional "EPA controls would cause energy prices to skyrocket, slow the development of natural-gas fields, and block enormous economic benefits" (Hobson, 2009, p. 19).

Both sides of the issue seem to make strong points in order to support their positions. Few and far between are the calls for objective and trustworthy research such as the one in America (the magazine) that asks for opponents and proponents to at least agree on the fact that the science behind fracking should take into effect the complexity of the situation as well…

Hydraulic Conductivity, How it Is Measured and hy it Is Important for Transient Storage

The hydraulic conductivity of soil is related to its texture. The rate is generally higher in coarser soils, but it is also influenced by structure and can be profoundly influenced by soil management operations and the exchangeable cation status (Richards 1956). The quality of irrigation water is an important consideration when determining irrigation feasibility and permanence alternatives. Rather than hazards to irrigation agriculture from the soluble constituents of irrigation water, the main problems appear to be the accumulation of soluble salts and exchangeable sodium in soil. In this regard, the salinity of irrigation water has a direct impact on such factors as crop selection, the appropriate method of application of the water, as well as the leaching required to effectively manage salt accumulations in the soil, all of which are factors subject to constraints imposed by…

1. Executive summary

While the extraction of natural gas by means of hydraulic fracturing is a decade- long practice, of late, it has witnessed immense development owing to advancements in the area of horizontal drilling which enables gas and oil operators to now harness earlier- unprofitable natural gas reserves within rock formations. Extant extraction- related policies combine state-federal alliances and voluntary endeavors by private organizations. More unprejudiced, scientific studies providing details on how fracturing and extraction potentially affect environmental media like water and air are essential, in addition to those focusing on natural gas surges’ long- term effects on local societies. Primary models and hypotheses may offer a basis to reasonably discuss possible effects.

Maintenance of the current state of affairs with regard to free market rules and governmental policies will potentially continually check short- run public expenses; however, it will not contribute sufficiently to furthering response to concerns regarding…

Business hetoric: Drilling in the Marcellus Shale

and Environmental Politics

Inexpensive energy sources are a requirement if the country is going to continue to thrive the way it has for more than 200 years. The United States is trying to decrease the amount of fossil fuels that it uses in everyday applications. However, the worry is not the fuels themselves, but the costs associated with the fuels. Fossil fuels are a viable resource if they are clean and extracted from the earth in ways that can be shown to be environmentally friendly. Because of these requirements, natural gas has become one of the new class of fuels that is thought of as superior to producing products from crude oil.

Natural gas is a clean energy source that can be extracted more safely than other sources of gas. Another bonus is that the product is very plentiful in the United States.…

conflict which has repercussions in the present time or one that is indeed actual. The following chosen conflict can actually be regarded as conflictive on two grounds which makes it all the more so important. First, hydraulic fracturing has been demonstrated to have severe environmental consequences on a negative scale which subsequently affect people's well-being. Second, as a technological development of the twentieth century, hydraulic fracturing, provided that the aforementioned is indeed true, would constitute reasonable grounds to estimate that the effects of industrialization have been detrimental to the common interest of the mere population while it has only boosted more financial benefits for the rich. The two grounds mentioned before make hydraulic fracturing a very current dangerous conflict which is why it has been chosen here. Moreover, certain companies seem to be given the right to drill internationally while the population is not made aware of the consequences, especially…

Energy prices went up again in 2008. Drillers created 29,000 jobs for the people. And State and local governments offered $240 million worth of taxes (Sapien 2009). And modern technology was there to realize the dream.

When asked about the initiative's threat to human health, the DEP at first assured all sectors that TDS were not generally considered a major risk. In 2008 alone, at least 4,000 new oil and gas wells were drilled. The frenzy sidestepped the greater and graver responsibility of disposal of huge wastewater. The new oil and gas wells produce approximately 9 million gallons of wastewater a day in Pennsylvania alone. This volume was expected to increase to at least 19 million this year. This volume is greater than that what all of the State's waterways combined can safely absorb, DEP itself says. ut in the wake of continued complaints and apprehensions, it advised consumers to…

Shale Gas Analysis

What is shale gas?

According to Alexander et al., (2011), shale gas refers to a natural gas that stored in organic-rich, fine-grained rocks, including shale, laminated siltstone, or mudstone. It contains a mixture of hydrocarbon gases, majorly ethane, and methane. The gases are tightly locked within the pore spaces of the sedimentary rocks. The reservoirs of the shale gas have features such as low impermeability to clay content and, small grain sized contents. The term shale does not focus on a specific rock, but rather the rocks that have fine-grained particles that are smaller than the coarse-grained particles such as siltstone and carbonate rocks among other rocks. The generation of the shale occurs through various processes that include primary and secondary thermogenic degradation alongside biogenic degradation of the organic matter. The occurrence may also occur in a combination of all of the above mechanisms. The formation of…

Gasland

The planet's major resources are continually threatened by industry and business. Among them, water has become such a priced commodity that finding areas with uncontaminated drinking water is slowly becoming a feat. How many people actually still trust to drink quality tap water without being cautious over it? That seems to be the premise of the documentary Gasland (2010), which focuses on the negative effects of siphoning gas through hydraulic fracturing on surrounding areas of the land. In Josh Fox's travels across the countryside, the testimony, evidence, and glaring supportive evidence seem clear enough that there are adverse effects. The companies, however, seem reluctant to do any further investigations.

Gasland's introduction brings the audience first to Fox's land, with a special focus on the history of his house and a greater focus on the beauty of the surroundings. He proceeds through the film by mentioning the letter from a…

Fracking and Ethics
Introduction
While “fracking”—the term applied to the practice of hydraulic fracturing of rock to gain access to the oil or gas underground—has been hailed as a revolutionary way for the oil industry to draw oil from previously hard to reach places, there are a variety of ethical issues surrounding the practice (Evensen & Stedman, 2018). Stakeholders in the issue of fracking go beyond those in the oil/gas industry, however. They include people in communities, whose water supply has been contaminated as a result of fracking. They include people whose lives have been changed by fracking due to the opportunity to invest in companies engaged in this practice. They include the workers and employees who are given jobs because of the new opportunities that fracking provides. Thus any position for or against fracking will impact all these stakeholders in different ways. Some believe fracking is the way of…

Ideal fracture geometry differs depending on the relative permeability conditions. Reservoir length is the most important dimension in low-permeability reservoirs, whereas reservoir width is more important in high-permeability reservoirs.

Artificial Lift

In general, the objective of artificial lift processes is to reduce the bottom hole flow pressure by increasing the flow rate. The Gas Lift method relies on gas compressor systems controlled by valve systems and produces oil and gas at the surface. Beam pumping has been used in its most conventional form, relies on gravity-based beam pumping units used by the industry since the 19th century. Various more modern forms of beam pumping systems include unitorque, air-balanced, and low-profile pumping unit configurations.

More recently, the electrical submersible method was developed and it can be advantageous in various operational environments and conditions. More particularly, electrical submersible pumps can lift high volumes of product at lower cost per volume; they are…

Shale Gas eservoirs, esource Estimation and ecoverable Volumes

What is Shale Gas?

Shale gas is best described as rich in organic content and fine-grained (Bustin, 2006). Shale, is however a very broad term, and gas found in any reserve is trapped in the layers of sediment alternating between clastic and sandstone or carbonates. Shale usually denotes fissile mudstone containing mm scale laminations of >50% silts and clays below 1/16mm (1% TOC, high Si%, low clay %, >40m thick, >1000km2, >1km deep, gas window thermal maturity levels, low expulsion potential and have a natural fracture network (Jarvie et al. 2007; Bouhlel and Bryant 2012). Shales, however are very heterogeneous and hence every play needs independent methodologies and estimations. That makes replication of one successful attempt to another play difficult (Khattab 2012).

The analysis of systemic variations in the mudstone architecture is measured on the parasequence scale using Sequence stratigraphy (Passey et…

Letter to the Newspaper

Our community faces a public health crisis of unprecedented proportions. My research leads me to believe that the cluster of unexplained illnesses that the people of this town have experienced over the years are the direct result of gas company drilling practices.

It started out with what we all assumed were just unrelated illnesses: irritation of the eyes, nose and throat. These may sound like allergies, but no. For the really unfortunate folks in our community, more severe symptoms showed up, like hypotension, metabolic acidosis, hemolysis, pulmonary edema and even coma, even rare and deadly diseases. But here is the zinger: we have too many cases of these illnesses for a community our size, far too many.

I became concerned after a chance remark by the school nurse about the number of children who apparently suffered from allergies, but whose symptoms did not respond to the…

Groundwater

"Water is starting to become an issue" in Harper County, Kansas, where groundwater reserves are running dry (Vaidyanathan and Gilmer, 2012). Low rates of precipitation, coupled with diversion of groundwater to the oil industry, are threatening to diminish available water used for farming and domestic use. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of groundwater in Harper County, Kansas and the flow rate of pumps in order to prepare for the future.

Harper County is in south-central Kansas, and abuts Oklahoma. The county "lies partly in the Wellington Lowland minor division of the Arkansas iver Lowland section of the Central Lowland province and partly in the ed Hills minor division of the Dissected High Plains section of the Great Plains province," (Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin, 1960). More recent geological surveys divide Harper County into six main areas: the Upland area, the Bluff Creek area (with Pleistocene deposits), the…

Regulating Oil and Gas Drilling and Transport

The American economy runs on energy produced from oil, coal, natural gas, hydroelectric power, nuclear power and renewable sources like solar and wind energies. In fact according to a report in the Congressional Research Service, oil provides the United States with 40% of its total energy needs. It is used in myriad ways, providing "…fuel for the transportation, industrial, and residential sectors" (Ramseur, 2012). Because of the great need for energy to fuel the American economy, oil in "vast quantities" enters the country and moves through the country by ships and by pipelines, Ramseur explains in the Congressional Research Service. Hence, it is inevitable that some spills will occur, and they certainly do occur, notwithstanding the attempts by the industry to conduct its business safely.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that the U.S. consumed 6.87 billion barrels (about 18.83 million barrels…

Waste and Energy Presentation

The first waste product is organic food waste. This ends up in landfills, and there are a number of negative outcomes. Food waste releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. Landfills are 20% of all methane emissions in the United States. Further, organic food waste is material that could be composted, but usually is not, representing a lost opportunity to create valuable compost for growing food. In addition, prior to making its way to the landfill, food waste is often stored in back alleys and in garbage cans, where it attracts rodents and other vermin (EPA, 2015).

Nuclear waste is a by-product of nuclear energy production. Nuclear waste comes in a number of categories, but it generally must be treated before it is deposited, and usually it must be turned to glass, stored in ceramics and then buried deep in the earth. Nuclear wastes have a long…

It is essential fo company manages, safety pactitiones and manufactuing enginees to be infomed of and gain sufficient knowledge about cuent eseach developments in this field and implement safety stategies as well as systems to minimize occupational health and safety isks. (Bie; Kuneuthe; Phimiste, 103); (Stellman, 17)

Active and pocedual isk management stategies ae impotant elements in any manufactuing unit. Active isk management efes to implementing intelocks, alams and mitigation systems that can detect a hazad and immediately shut down o set the system into a safe position. Pocedual isk management efes to implementing safety checklists, opeato taining, standad opeating pocedues and seveal such people dependent management systems. Ceating "inheently safe design stategies" in a manufactuing unit would involve fou key stategies. These ae minimizing, modeating, substituting and simplifying systems. (Bie; Kuneuthe; Phimiste, 103); (Stellman, 17)

Despite all safety guidelines, accidents still occu mainly as a esult of human complacence…

Health Care Trends

With the passage of the Affordable Care Act the personal health of every American has become an important issue. While most health care funds are spent treating diseases and other health problems, there has recently been a push toward focusing on prevention of health problems. For example, "chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes are now responsible for more than 75% of health care costs." (Berman, 201, p.328) But as these health problems are almost entirely preventable a focus on prevention could save a great deal of money that would be better spent elsewhere. Therefore many Americans are beginning to endorse policies that prevent health problems before they start. Some of these ideas involve incentives to reward people for healthy behavior while others involve penalties to punish those who do not. However, research indicates that punishments are not as effective as incentives when it…