Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the technology that helps to get non-conventional fossil fuels’ sources. They existed along with traditional fuel basins. But companies weren't interested in these sources until the traditional fuel stores started to dry out. “Fracking, is a drilling technique used for extracting oil or natural gas from deep underground” (Lallanilla, 2015). There are two types of technology: hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The last one appeared only in 1990s, while hydraulic fracturing was used from 1940s. Both technologies have similar processes.
The first stage is drilling a vertically or angled well to the depth of 1-2 miles or more. Walls are reinforced with concrete or steel to minimize the risk of leaking. After well reaches layer with oil or gas, it "curves about 90 degrees and begins drilling horizontally along that rock layer" (Lallanilla, 2015). After well is fully drilled and reinforced, people pump there a mixture of water (near 90%), sand and additives. The liquid came there at a high pressure that can be more than 62 MPa. This process helps to separate oil or gas from rock.
Tar sands are also a type of non-conventional oil. They are younger and have less cover thickness compared to traditional oil. People dig the sands with bulldozers and use different methods to extract fuel from them. If mixture is liquid enough it’s possible just to pump it out. However water is needed in the majority of cases.
While shale fossils and tar sands are treated as perspective sources of fuels, there are some questions. American Environment Protection Agency and other organizations fear there are serious negative consequences of extraction processes. According to dangersoffracking.com (n. d.), each fracture needs from 1 to 8 millions gallons of water and near 40,000 gallons of chemicals. 600 different compounds, including dangerous toxins like formaldehyde, methane, asbestos and lead, are used for this process. Some of them can get into atmosphere, ground and water during the procedure. For example, “methane concentrations are 17x higher in drinking-water wells near fracturing sites than in normal wells” (dangersoffracking.com, n. d.). Contamination of drinking water can cause respiratory, sensory and neurological damage. It can affect not only humans, but also crops and animals. According to Garber (2013), milk production decreased about 16 times Pennsylvania’s counties with shale wells. While people try to reinforce fracturing wells, spills can still appear. EPA’s latest searches showed that fluids reached surface water in 9% cases and soil in 64% cases. They didn’t reach ground waters, but scientists believe contaminants need some time to do it. According to some studies hydraulic fracturing can also provoke earthquakes. Seismic activity was linked with underground disposal wells for fracking wastewaters. According to Ramsey (2014), seismic activity in Oklahoma “has increased 40-fold between 2008-2013”. Companies also often take people's lands to create fracturing wells.
Oil sands were called one of the dirtiest fuel sources. According to Lindsay (2010), “its production and use generates far more greenhouse gases than petroleum”. There are different numbers, varied from 10% to 300%. The average number of 82% was given by EPA. Production of oil sands also damaged woods, like Canadian Boreal forest. Chemically-infested ponds can appear in places where tar sands were washed. These contaminants affect plants, birds, animals and human's water sources. Method also was called very costly. In 2010 4 barrels of water were needed to get 1 barrel of oil. Open mines polluted air and created local health troubles. Oil sands’ extraction also includes dangerous and expensive pipelines.
It’s obvious that people will use nonrenewable energy sources in nearby future. That means shale fossils and tar sands will interest companies. Right now I can’t see the possibilities to abandon these sources. They did not only give necessary energy, but also help to create new workplaces. However, there can be ways to decrease their negative consequences for environment. For example, companies can try to give up on most dangerous chemicals that are used as additives. The other way is to decrease the necessary amount of water for hydraulic fracturing or extracting fossil fuel from tar sands. According to some researches it’s also possible to minimize the GHG emissions from oil sands with the help of CCS.
Both technologies need huge amounts of water. With less toxic additives or better cleaning system it’ll be possible to re-use more wastewater. Some companies already do that and “this practice has the potential to reduce discharges to treatment facilities or surface waters, minimize underground injection of wastewater and conserve water resources” (epa.gov, n. d.).
Except of environmental, there can be social problems. Many people don't know a lot about fracking technologies. For one group it's a source of economical growth, while other accuses it in environment destruction. Companies should follow the transparent policy with regulators and other groups interested in hydraulic fracture, oil sands and shale gas extraction.
These technologies are economically reasonable when oil prices are high. Today they fall almost by half. Gas prices are still high, but it’s still difficult to work with shale sources. From the standpoint of economic potential for some companies it could be better to invest more in renewable energy sources.
Reference List
Lallanilla, M. (2015). Facts About Fracking. Retrieved from: http://www.livescience.com/34464-what-is-fracking.html
“What goes in and out of Hydraulic Fracturing”. (n. d.). Retrieved from: http://dangersoffracking.com/
Lindsay, B. (2010). Editorial: The pros and cons of oil sands. Retrieved from: http://www.dbp.idebate.org/en/index.php/Editorial:_The_pros_and_cons_of_oil_sands
Ramsey, N. (2014). New study links Oklahoma earthquakes to fracking. Retrieved from: http://www.msnbc.com/the-last-word/oklahoma-earthquakes-linked-fracking-study
Garber, L. (2013). 5 Fracking Consequences You’ve Never Heard About. Retrieved from: http://naturalsociety.com/5-fracking-consequences-youve-never-heard-about/
United States Environmental Protection Agency (n. d.). Recycling of wastewater. Retrieved from: http://www2.epa.gov/hydraulicfracturing
