Fracking

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Title:

Fracking

Series:

Issues in environmental science and technology ; volume 39

Publication Information:

Cambridge : Royal Society of Chemistry, 2015

Physical Description:

xvii, 228 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

ISBN:

9781849739207

Abstract:

Fracking has the potential to extract hydrocarbons from previously inaccessible sources of gas and oil, but is regularly in the news because of environmental concerns surrounding the process. First used commercially in the mid-20th Century, only recently has fracking been deployed on a large scale, revolutionising the energy industry in the USA. As more nations seek to adopt or ban fracking, do the economic benefits outweigh the environmental costs? Presenting both sides of the debate, this latest volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology draws on a wealth of international expertise, ranging from the oil and gas industry to Friends of the Earth. The technology of fracking is examined in detail, as well as the associated economic, societal and global climate change considerations. Individual chapters focus on exploration for unconventional hydrocarbons, the hydrogeological aspects and risks of water contamination, coal seam gas extraction in Australia and current developments in China. Anyone wishing to gain a balanced view of hydraulic fracturing will benefit from reading this book, which is aimed at researchers in academia and industry, policy makers, environmental science students and the interested layman.

Subject Term:

Hydraulic fracturing -- Environmental aspects

Hydraulic fracturing

Added Author:

Hester, R. E. (Ronald E.),

Harrison, Roy M., 1948-,

Available:*

Library	Item Barcode	Call Number	Material Type	Item Category 1	Status
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010337887	TN278 F73 2015	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown
Searching... PSZ JB	30000010344909	TN278 F73 2015	Open Access Book	Book	Searching... Unknown

On Order

Summary

Fracking has the potential to extract hydrocarbons from previously inaccessible sources of gas and oil, but is regularly in the news because of environmental concerns surrounding the process. First used commercially in the mid-20th Century, only recently has fracking been deployed on a large scale, revolutionising the energy industry in the USA. As more nations seek to adopt or ban fracking, do the economic benefits outweigh the environmental costs? Presenting both sides of the debate, this latest volume of Issues in Environmental Science and Technology draws on a wealth of international expertise, ranging from the oil and gas industry to Friends of the Earth. The technology of fracking is examined in detail, as well as the associated economic, societal and global climate change considerations. Anyone wishing to gain a balanced view of hydraulic fracturing will benefit from reading this book, which is aimed at researchers in academia and industry, policy makers, environmental science students and the interested layman.

Author Notes

Issues in Environmental Science and Technology are published twice a year, with each Issue addressing a specific theme or topic. Written by world experts in their specialist fields, this series presents a multi-disciplinary approach. In addition to covering the chemistry of environmental processes, the series focuses on the broader economic, legal and political aspects, and provides assessments of possible practical solutions to perceived environmental problems.

Reviews 1

Choice Review

Fracking is the procedure for creating fractures in rocks by injecting fluids under high pressure into cracks in order to make them wider. This collection of eight essays by 13 authors on the subject of fracking focuses primarily on stimulating production of natural gas trapped in shale. It looks at both favorable and unfavorable aspects of fracking from a wide variety of viewpoints. These include many geological, economic, and environmental factors. Each chapter goes into great depth in examining a particular part of the picture. The two chapters devoted to drilling and production procedures give details hard to find in the general literature, including just what is in the hydraulic fracturing fluids. The discussion of both short-term and long-term global economic considerations, although highly technical, looks closely at both potential benefits and potential downsides of increased reliance on shale gas. Environmental aspects, including impacts on global climate change, receive comments from both pro-industry and pro-environment sides. Though the emphasis is on Great Britain, the US, and China, one chapter addresses coal-seam gas recovery in Australia. References at the end of each article are extensive. Summing Up: Recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through professionals/practitioners. --Charles William Dimmick, emeritus, Central Connecticut State University

Peter HardyFarzad Taheripour and Wallace E. Tyner and Kemal SaricaIain C. ScotchmanJohn Broderick and Ruth WoodRobert S. Ward and Marianne E. Stuart and John P. BloomfieldAlan RandallShu JiangTony Bosworth

Editors	p. xv
List of Contributors	p. xvii
Introduction and Overview: the Role of Shale Gas in Securing Our Energy Future	p. 1
1 Introduction	p. 2
1.1 History	p. 3
2 Shale Gas Production and Reserves in the UK	p. 7
2.1 Overview	p. 7
2.2 Exploitation of Reserves	p. 12
2.3 Production	p. 28
3 UK Estimates of Shale Gas	p. 29
3.1 Resource Requirements	p. 33
4 Existing Natural Gas Supplies in the UK	p. 35
5 World Energy Environment: Is Shale likely to be a Game Changer?	p. 35
6 Regulation	p. 38
7 Predictions are Hard, Especially about the Future	p. 39
Disclaimer	p. 41
References	p. 41
Shale Gas Boom, Trade and Environmental Policies: Global Economic and Environmental Analyses in a Multidisciplinary Modeling Framework	p. 46
1 Introduction	p. 47
2 Literature Review and Background	p. 47
3 The GTAP Model	p. 48
4 GTAP Model and Database Modifications	p. 51
4.1 Natural Gas in the GTAP Database	p. 51
4.2 Firms' Demand for Energy Items	p. 52
4.3 Depiction of Natural Resources	p. 52
4.4 Treatment of Unemployment	p. 53
5 Simulation Experiments	p. 53
6 Simulation Results	p. 56
6.1 Production	p. 56
6.2 GDP Impacts	p. 58
6.3 Employment	p. 59
6.4 Prices	p. 59
6.5 Trade Impacts	p. 59
6.6 Welfare Impacts	p. 61
6.7 Emissions	p. 65
7 Conclusions	p. 66
References	p. 66
Exploration for Unconventional Hydrocarbons: Shale Gas and Shale Oil	p. 69
1 Introduction	p. 69
2 Shale Resource Systems - Concepts	p. 72
2.1 Shale Gas	p. 74
2.2 Shale (Tight) Oil	p. 74
3 What Makes a Shale Reservoir?	p. 75
3.1 Organic Richness	p. 76
3.2 Porosity	p. 77
3.3 Permeability: Methods - Traditional Core Plug and Crushed Core	p. 81
3.4 Gas Storage: Free versus Adsorbed Gas	p. 83
3.5 Mineralogy	p. 84
3.6 Fractures and Faulting	p. 86
3.7 Confining Elements: "Flow-Unit" Concept	p. 87
3.8 Resource and Reserve Evaluation	p. 87
4 Exploration and Exploitation of Shale Reservoirs	p. 88
5 Geological/Environmental Considerations	p. 93
5.1 Hydraulic Fracturing (Completion)	p. 93
5.2 Groundwater Issues	p. 93
5.3 Completion or "Frac" Fluids	p. 96
6 Shale Resources - USA versus Europe and the Rest of the World	p. 96
7 Conclusions	p. 98
References	p. 99
Climate Change Impacts of Shale Gas Production	p. 104
1 Introduction	p. 105
2 Life-cycle Climate Impact of Shale Gas Production	p. 105
2.1 Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions	p. 105
2.2 Quantitative Estimates of Life-cycle Climate Impacts	p. 107
3 Shale Gas in the Global Energy System	p. 109
3.1 The Significance of the Energy System in Contributing to Climate Change	p. 110
3.2 Cumulative Emissions and Climate Change	p. 110
3.3 Fossil Fuels in the Context of Emissions Budgets	p. 111
4 Shale Gas as a Transition Fuel	p. 113
4.1 Conditions and Evidence to Date	p. 113
4.2 Future Opportunities?	p. 115
References	p. 117
The Hydrogeological Aspects of Shale Gas Extraction in the UK	p. 121
1 Introduction	p. 122
2 Potential Shale Gas Resources and Aquifers in the UK	p. 123
2.1 Potential Shale Gas Source Rocks	p. 123
2.2 UK Aquifers	p. 125
3 Water Resources	p. 128
4 Contaminant/Pollutant Sources	p. 131
4.1 Drilling	p. 131
4.2 Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids	p. 132
4.3 Flow Back and Produced (Formation) Wastewater	p. 134
4.4 Shale Gas	p. 137
5 Contaminant Pathways and Receptors	p. 137
5.1 Natural Sub-surface Pathways	p. 138
5.2 Induced Fractures	p. 139
5.3 Drilling and Well Integrity	p. 140
5.4 Surface Accidental Releases of Liquids and Chemicals	p. 141
6 Risk Assessment, Regulation and Groundwater Protection	p. 141
7 Evidence of Shale-gas-related Groundwater Contamination	p. 145
8 Conclusions	p. 146
References	p. 147
Coal Seam Gas Recovery in Australia: Economic, Environmental and Policy Issues	p. 151
1 Introduction and Context	p. 152
1.1 Global Energy and Greenhouse Gas Emissions Outlook	p. 152
1.2 The Australian Context	p. 153
1.3 Conflicting Worldviews	p. 154
2 The Australian Minerals Economy	p. 155
2.1 Exports	p. 155
2.2 Benefits to Australia	p. 155
2.3 Australian Minerals Rights and Resource Taxation Policies Encourage Extraction	p. 157
3 Coal Seam Gas Development in Australia	p. 158
3.1 CSG Extraction Technology	p. 160
3.2 Environmental Impacts of CSG	p. 161
4 Toward a Comprehensive Economic Assessment of CSG Development: a Case Study of CSG versus Agriculture on Prime Farmland	p. 171
4.1 Results	p. 173
5 Conclusions	p. 174
References	p. 175
Prospects for Shale Gas Development in China	p. 181
1 Introduction	p. 182
2 Geology and Shale Gas Resources in China	p. 183
3 Recent Progress of Shale Gas Development in China	p. 187
4 Socioeconomic and Employment Benefits of Shale Gas Development in China	p. 187
5 Geopolitical Implications of Shale Gas Development in China	p. 189
6 China's Supportive Policies for Shale Gas Development	p. 190
7 Challenges for Shale Gas Development in China	p. 192
7.1 Complex Geology	p. 192
7.2 Lack of Advanced Shale Gas Development Technologies and Experience	p. 193
7.3 Infrastructure	p. 193
7.4 Water Shortage in Some Areas	p. 193
7.5 Environmental Issues	p. 194
8 The Promising Future of China's Shale Gas Development	p. 195
9 Conclusions	p. 196
References	p. 197
Unconventional and Unburnable: Why going all out for Shale Gas is the Wrong Direction for the UK's Energy Policy	p. 199
1 Introduction	p. 199
1.1 The Government's View	p. 200
2 Environmental Concerns	p. 200
2.1 Climate Change	p. 201
2.2 Water Resources	p. 207
2.3 Water Contamination	p. 207
2.4 Health Impacts	p. 209
2.5 Earthquakes	p. 210
2.6 Will UK Regulation be Adequate?	p. 210
3 Local Economic Impacts	p. 211
3.1 Energy Bills	p. 211
3.2 Jobs and Local Economy	p. 212
4 Energy Security	p. 212
5 Other Forms of Unconventional Gas	p. 213
6 Friends of the Earth's Vision	p. 214
6.1 The Power Sector	p. 215
6.2 Heat	p. 215
References	p. 216
Subject Index	p. 222

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews 1

Choice Review

Table of Contents