Southern African Natural Gas Advisory Service Service

Hydraulic Fracturing

When deploying hydraulic fracturing techniques to release unconventional natural gas from ' tight ' shale beds and other geological formations, the three major safety issues are protection of groundwater from contamination, dealing with the fracturing fluid and residues on the surface. There is also a very small risk of seismic tremors induced by the underground drilling and hydraulic or pressurized fracturing of the low porous underground rock formations.  

Hydraulic fracturing or ' hydro-fracking ' or simply ' fracking ' as it is often referred to, is a relatively new technique for the production of unconventional shale gas. As with all extractive techniques used by the oil, gas, coal and other extractive and mining industries, there are associated environmental and safety risks that have to be mitigated with the correct use of technology together with vigilant independent inspection and regulation. With hydraulic fracturing being a relatively new technology it has aroused controversy regarding its safety and environmental impacts.   

There is a body of negative evidence from America regarding a range of environmental and health concerns associated with some of the early shale gas drill sites. These important concerns relate to the poisoning of underground water, the leakage of natural gas from underground to the surface and dangerous fracturing liquids and chemicals deployed to liberate the trapped methane from deep underground.

Regulation and necessary third party oversight of the young shale gas industry in the USA has been lax and often inadequate. Drilling Permits, Federal Regulations, the payment by gas companies to landowners eager to sell drilling rights and the appropriate independent regulation to enable shale gas exploration and production to be done properly and safely, have all clearly been poorly managed and regulated in the early days of this sudden energy boom.

The chemicals and liquids used in early drill sites were often toxic and dangerous. The impacts over time underground are still awaited. There have been documented cases of environmental damage from inappropriate treatment of these fracturing fluids on the surface. There have also been a range of cases of negative health impacts from contaminated water with humans and farm animals. Drill wells and the longitudinal fracturing lines used to extract the gas from the tight shale beds have sometimes not been correctly sealed. This has allowed the escape of shale gas through sub strata to the surface and the contamination of water bore holes, rivers and streams.  

All these grave matters require very careful scrutiny and evaluation of shale gas drilling and production methods and the enforcement of permanent environmentally safe solutions, plus rigorous independent regulatory oversight of this relatively new energy industry. Shale gas wells must be properly sealed to stop any leakage of gas into the substrata or contamination of ground water. Safer fracturing liquids must be deployed together with proper management of liquids always undertaken safely on the surface. In the rush to exploit these new and valuable energy reserves in the USA many of these imperatives were neglected in the early young years of this new extractive industry.  

Much has been learned however in the last 15 years about how to extract shale gas safely and with no lasting environmental impacts. However two lessons are abundantly clear. Firstly, shale gas operators must comply fully with a stringent range of proper drilling, well sealing, gas extraction and fluid handling methodologies.  Providing the right techniques are deployed there is ample documentary evidence to show that shale gas exploration and production can take its place safely and properly alongside many other extractive techniques widely deployed across the world today without any harm to humans, animals or the environment.  The second important lesson is to ensure this is the case with proper operational standards, rules and regulatory authorities to ensure proper independent regulation and oversight of the shale gas industry.  From the negative experience in some parts of the USA, it appears that it is with this last essential requirement, where there have been the major failures to date.

Hydraulic fracturing techniques are continuing to be studied and greatly improved. There is now a body of international experience and knowledge about this matter that if properly applied will ensure that shale gas can be located and produced safely. The production of shale gas is a very new industry and the problems that occurred in some parts of the USA, in the early years, could and should have been avoided. With thousands of successful and safe shale gas production sites now operating in the USA and a major global exploration drive for unconventional natural gas under way, there is absolutely no reason for these mistakes to be repeated.

The experience and knowledge now exists to ensure the proper and safe production of shale gas. From a historical perspective it is also important to keep hydraulic fracturing in perspective. A brief moment to reflect on how other extractive energy industries began and the hard lessons that had to be learned over the years and the dreadful disasters that have occurred as we have systematically moved to the safe production and supply methods of today. Coal mining disasters continue to this day with an unacceptable loss of life among miners, blow outs on deep sea oil production platforms still occur occasionally and no one needs reminding of the recent nuclear disasters in Japan with impacts likely to affect generations to come. In contrast, the shale gas industry has only existed in the last 20 years although in that time it has made significant strides to identify and deal with the safety and environmental issues involved with hydraulic fracturing techniques.  

It is notable however that all extractive energy industries, that supply the energy upon which the modern world depends, involve safety and environmental implications. The mining of coal, the operation of nuclear electricity generation plants, the production of oil often offshore deep from under the seabed; and, the transportation of large tonnages of hydrocarbons across the oceans all involve major risks. Unless these risks are properly understood and managed then major and lasting disasters damaging health and the environmental will arise. The shale gas industry, despite its proven potential to provide massive quantities of low cost clean and efficient natural gas, is no different.