Natural gas is far “greener” than coal and other fossil fuels, but environmentalists worry that leaks of methane – a powerful contributor to global warming – may offset the climate benefits of natural gas.
A car-mounted system that can detect leaks of methane from pipelines and other sources is being deployed by Pacific Gas & Electric Co. to monitor its 45,000 miles of pipelines. The system is manufactured by Piccaro, Inc., of Santa Clara. Continue reading
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced the launch of a statewide scientific assessment of oil and gas development in California, including an in-depth environmental study of fracking and other oil and gas projects.
The BLM says the outcome of its assessment could establish additional environmental protections on those parcels.
This announcement followed a federal court decision holding that the BLM violated environmental law by auctioning off the rights to extract oil on 2,500 acres of public lands in Monterey County. Continue reading
The Associated Press reports that the latest federal study on hydraulic fracturing is corroborating other recent studies showing no evidence that chemicals used in the drilling process for natural gas have contaminated drinking water supplies.
The current study was undertaken by the National Energy Technology Laboratory in Pittsburgh for the Department of Energy. At a drilling site in western Pennsylvania, drilling fluids were tagged with unique markers that allowed scientists to monitor possible percolation up to the shallow regions, near the water table. Continue reading
A recent study prepared by scientists affiliated with Duke University, the University of Rochester, and Cal Poly Pomona titled “Increased Stray Gas Abundance in a Subset of Drinking Water Wells Near Marcellus Shale Gas Extraction” was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last month.
This study found higher methane and ethane concentrations in water wells located less than one kilometer away from the shale gas wells. However, it also corroborated the researchers’ prior peer-reviewed studies showing that there is no evidence of increased concentrations of salts, metals, or radioactivity in drinking water wells accompanying shale gas extraction in the Marcellus region.
Researchers explored various possible causes for this increased concentration of gases in the water wells within the one kilometer range. Importantly, they dismissed the possibility that fluids used in the fracking process were contaminants, because none of these chemicals were found in the 141 water wells tested. Continue reading
By Dennis R. Luna, J.D., P.E., and Michael Newman
As oil and gas fracking operations have increased, so have the risks and the potential liability claims associated with enhanced recovery techniques, horizontal wells, water disposal wells and fracking.
Insurance companies have had to adapt the policies they sell to protect against claims linked to fracking and other recovery processes.
The customers of those insurance companies – oil and gas companies, their fracking-related contractors, and landowners where drilling occurs – have to be much more knowledgeable about the coverage they are buying. Continue reading
Oil and gas operations by their nature involve some environmental risks, which are well known and typically well managed. But shale gas fracking operations are associated with additional risks for which the industry is still developing mitigation techniques.
One of the unique aspects of fracking operations is the transportation, storage, and use of millions of gallons of water.
This intensive use of water resources can create a conflict of priorities and risks to local area residences. Can the municipal system support such an intense use of water? What will be the impact of withdrawing water from the shallow aquifers? Is there a potential to impact other groundwater users in the area by lowering the water table? The effects of this heavy use of a resource need to be carefully considered and managed so as to minimize the potential impacts to the surrounding areas. Continue reading
