Get a FREE PDF Report. ‘Hydraulic fracturing’ or Fracking has topped discussion subjects in the Karoo over the past year or more and is on everyone’s mind, lips and heart. What do we know about Fracking ? For the uninformed fracking has simply become an imotive subject and for very good reason. There’s very little to suggest that fracking should be part of the Karoo in any shape or form and the bottom line is simply No !
But it does help to know the facts. Karoo Places is thrilled to be part of the anti-fracking campaign and as part of our 
contribution we are making the following report available to our readers. It’s a free PDF. Simply right click on the report and “save file as” to download it onto your computer. It’s a very well written report by the Tyndall Center in the UK and can be directly applied to conditions in the Karoo. The report is 78pages long and is comprehensive. If you are passionate about the Karoo and are concerned about the high risks of fracking in the Karoo then reading this report is a must. The following are a few excerpts from the report.
Evidence from the US suggests shale gas extraction
brings a significant risk of ground and surface water contamination and until the evidence
base is developed a precautionary approach to development in the UK and Europe is the
only responsible action.
In 2007, a well that had been drilled almost 4,000ft into a tight sand formation in
Bainbridge, Ohio was not properly sealed with cement, allowing gas from a shale
layer above the target tight sand formation to travel through the annulus into an
underground source of drinking water. The methane eventually built up until an
explosion in a resident‘s basement alerted state officials to the problem.
Migrating methane has reportedly affected over a dozen water supply wells
within an area of 9 miles square (23kms). The explosion was due to methane
collecting in a water well vault. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental
Protection (DEP) has since installed gas detectors and taken water wells
with high methane levels offline at impacted homes to reduce explosion hazards.
The root cause remains under investigation and a definitive subsurface pathway is not known;
Shale gas extraction requires very significant amounts of water. To carry out all
fracturing operations on a six well pad takes between 54-174million litres of water,
which is equivalent to about 22-69 Olympic size swimming pools of water. If the UK
were to produce 9bcm (billion cubique meters) of shale gas each year for 20 years
this would equate to an average annual water demand of 1300-5600 million litres.
• Very significant amounts of water are required to extract shale gas and this
could put severe pressure on water supplies in areas of drilling.
• The impacts of climate change may further exacerbate this problem.
Linked to noise is the issue of increases in traffic associated with shale gas
extraction. It is estimated that the construction of each well head would require
between 4300-6500 truck visits. This could clearly have a local impact on roads and
traffic in the locality of shale gas well heads. Damage to roads not suited to the
levels of truck traffic associated with gas drilling has been an issue in the US.
The construction of well pads is an industrial activity and requires access roads,
storage pits, tanks, drilling equipment, trucks etc. Well pads take up around 1.5-2ha
and the well pads will be spaced between1.25-3/kms square. As has been mentioned
previously, to produce 9bcm of gas annually in the UK over 20 years would require
430-500 well pads and would need to cover an area of 140-400kms square. For comparison
400kms square is about equivalent to the Isle of Wight. This level of activity is likely to face
considerable opposition at the local level and may well be seen as unacceptable
more widely.
* Shale gas extraction in the UK must surely be delayed until clear evidence
of its safety can be presented.
* The US EPA study on risks to groundwater will hopefully add to
knowledge on the subject. It seems sensible to wait for the
results of the US EPA investigation to bring forward further information.
The argument that shale gas should be exploited as a transitional fuel
in the move to a low carbon economy seems tenuous at best. It is difficult to envisage any
situation other than shale gas largely being used in addition to other fossil fuel reserves and adding
a further carbon burden.
* In the International Energy Agency scenario that outlines a path to 50%
reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, fuel switching coupled with power generation
efficiency, only accounts for 5% of the required reductions (IEA, 2010). If globally we
are to achieve the considerable reductions in carbon emissions that are required
then it is energy efficiency, carbon capture and storage, renewable energy etc. that
will make the difference.
Editors conclusion:
“Fracking for more shale gas simply compounds the carbon emmission problem rather than solving it and with the high risks of pollution, fracking cannot be seen as a solution.”
Source:
Wood. R., et al: 2011, Shale gas: a provisional
assessment of climate change and environmental impacts. A report commissioned
by the Cooperative and undertaken by researchers at the Tyndall Centre, University
of Manchester
Shale gas: a provisional assessment, January 2011
A report by researchers at The Tyndall Centre University of Manchester
Further reading.
Stop Fracking in the Karoo, Fracking up the Karoo, Stop fracking in the Karoo, Anti Shell Fracking in the Karoo, Fracking Up the Karoo, Help Prevent Fracking in the Karoo, New Fracking Route to grace the Karoo, Samara?s NO FRACKING fight for the Karoo a Success
