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Hydraulic Fracturing and Shale Gas Production: Technology, Impacts, and Policy

Hydraulic Fracturing and Shale Gas Production: Technology, Impacts, and Policy

Full Title: Hydraulic Fracturing and Shale Gas Production: Technology, Impacts, and Policy
Author(s): Corrie Clark, Andrew Burnham, Christopher Harto, and Robert Horner
Publisher(s): Argonne National Laboratory
Publication Date: September 1, 2012
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

Shale gas production represents a large, new potential source of natural gas for the nation. Development of this resource is,
however, not without risks to natural resources. Potential impacts include the following:

  • Greenhouse gas emissions during completion and production activities,
  • Air emissions that affect local air quality during completion and production activities,
  • Water withdrawals for hydraulic fracturing,
  • Induced seismicity from improper management of flowback water,
  • Water quality impacts to surface water or aquifer from faulty well design and construction or improper flowback water
  • management, and
  • Additional community impacts including noise and light pollution.

Improved science-based assessments of these risks are underway, but early results indicate that the risks can be managed and
lowered through existing practices including the following:

  • RECs that limit VOC, HAP, and CH4 emissions and reduce flaring,
  • Engineering controls and appropriate personal protective equipment to reduce worker exposure to crystalline silica,
  • Reusing flowback water to limit fresh water withdrawal requirements and reduce water management burdens,
  • Drilling of multiple wells from a single well pad to reduce the footprint of operations,
  • Proper siting, design, and construction of gas production and fluid disposal wells, and
  • Groundwater quality monitoring coupled with fracturing fluid chemical disclosures.

With adequate safeguards in place, shale gas can be exploited responsibly in ways that protect both the environment and
human health.

All statements and/or propositions in discussion prompts are meant exclusively to stimulate discussion and do not represent the views of OurEnergyPolicy.org, its Partners, Topic Directors or Experts, nor of any individual or organization. Comments by and opinions of Expert participants are their own.

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