The “shale revolution” obviously takes seriously the minds of politicians and businessmen around the world. The Americans hold the palm in this field, but it seems likely that the rest of the world will soon join them. Of course, there are states where shale gas production is practically not conducted - in Russia, for example, the majority of political and business elites are rather skeptical of this undertaking. Moreover, it is not so much a factor of economic profitability. The most important circumstance that may affect the prospects of an industry such as shale gas production is the environmental impact. Today we will study this aspect.
What is shale gas?
But for a start - a small theoretical digression. What is shale gas? This is a mineral that is extracted from a special type of minerals - oil shale. The main method by which shale gas is extracted, the consequences of which we, today, guided by the positions of experts, will be studied - fracking, or hydraulic fracturing. It is arranged approximately like this. A pipe is introduced into the earth's interior in an almost horizontal position, and one of its branches is brought to the surface.
In the process of fracking, pressure is pumped into the gas storage, which helps shale gas to go up, where it is collected. The most popular mining mentioned minerals acquired in North America. According to a number of experts, revenue growth in this industry in the US market over the past few years has amounted to several hundred percent. However, unconditional economic success in the aspect of developing new methods for producing “blue fuel” can be accompanied by enormous problems associated with the production of shale gas. They are, as we have said, ecological in nature.
Environmental damage
The fact that the United States and other energy states should, according to experts, pay special attention when working in such areas as shale gas production, is an environmental impact. The most important threat to the environment is the basic method of extracting minerals from the bowels of the earth. It's about the same fracking. It, as we have already said, represents the supply of water to the earth's layer (under very high pressure). This kind of impact can have a pronounced negative impact on the environment.
Reagents in action
Technological features of fracking are not the only environmental risks. Current shale gas production methods involve the use of several hundred varieties of chemically active, and potentially toxic, substances. What does this mean? The fact is that the development of appropriate deposits requires the use of large volumes of fresh water. Its density, as a rule, is less than that which is characteristic of groundwater. And therefore, light fluid layers, one way or another, can eventually rise to the surface and reach the mixing zone with drinking sources. However, they will likely contain toxic impurities.
Moreover, a variant is possible in which light water will return to the surface contaminated not with chemical, but completely natural, but still harmful to human health and the environment, substances that may be contained in the depths of the earth's bowels. Indicative moment: it is known that shale gas production is planned in Ukraine, in the Carpathian region. However, the experts of one of the scientific centers conducted a study, during which it became clear: the layers of the earth in those regions that are supposed to contain shale gas are characterized by a high content of metals - nickel, barium, and uranium.
Technology miscalculation
By the way, a number of experts from Ukraine calls to pay attention not so much to the problems of shale gas production in terms of the use of harmful substances, but to the shortcomings in the technologies used by gas companies. Representatives of the scientific community of Ukraine in one of their reports on environmental topics put forward the relevant theses. What is their nature? The findings of scientists, in general, boil down to the fact that shale gas production in Ukraine can cause significant damage to soil fertility. The fact is that with those technologies that are used to isolate harmful substances, some materials will be located under arable soil. Accordingly, something to grow above them, in the upper layers of the soil, will be problematic.
Ukrainian bowels
Among Ukrainian experts, there are also concerns about the possible consumption of drinking water reserves, which may constitute a strategically significant resource. At the same time, already in 2010, when the shale revolution was only gaining momentum, the Ukrainian authorities issued licenses for conducting shale gas exploration to companies of the ExxonMobil and Shell level. In 2012, exploratory wells were drilled in the Kharkov region.
This could indicate, experts believe, that the Ukrainian authorities are interested in developing “shale” prospects, probably with the aim of reducing dependence on gas supplies from Russia. But now it is not known, analysts say, what are the future prospects of work in this direction (due to well-known political events).
Problematic fracking
Continuing the discussion about the shortcomings of shale gas production technologies, one can also pay attention to other notable points. In particular, some substances of petroleum origin may be used in fracking. They act as rupture fluids. At the same time, their frequent use can lead to a significant deterioration in the degree of rock permeability for water flows. In order to avoid this, gas workers can use water, which uses soluble chemical derivatives of substances similar in composition to cellulose. And they pose a serious threat to human health.
Salts and radiation
There were precedents when the presence of chemicals in waters in the area of shale wells was recorded by scientists not only in the design aspect, but also in practice. After analyzing the water flowing into the sewage treatment plant in Pennsylvania, experts found a much higher than normal level of salt content - chlorides, bromides. Some of the substances found in water can react with atmospheric gases - for example, ozone, as a result of which toxic products can form. Also, in some subsurface layers located in areas where shale gas is extracted, the Americans discovered radium. Which, respectively, is radioactive. Apart from salts and radium, scientists discovered various kinds of benzenes, toluene, in waters that are concentrated in areas where the main method of shale gas extraction (fracking) is used.
Legal loophole
Some lawyers note that the environmental damage caused by American gas companies of the "shale" profile is almost of a legal nature. The fact is that in 2005 the United States passed a legal act according to which the method of fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, was removed from the monitoring of the Environmental Protection Agency. This agency, in particular, ensured that American businessmen acted in accordance with the provisions of the Drinking Water Protection Act.
However, with the adoption of the new legal act, US enterprises were able to operate outside the Agency’s control zone. It has become possible, experts say, the production of shale oil and gas in close proximity to underground sources of drinking water. And this despite the fact that the Agency, in one of its studies, came to the conclusion that the sources continue to be polluted, and not so much in the process of fracking, but some time after the completion of work. Analysts believe that the law was passed not without political pressure.
European freedom
A number of experts focus on the fact that not only Americans, but also Europeans do not want to understand the potential for shale gas production. In particular, the European Commission, which is developing sources of law in various areas of the EU economy, has not even begun to create a separate law regulating environmental issues in this industry. The agency has limited itself, analysts emphasize, to just issuing a recommendation that actually does not oblige energy companies to anything.
At the same time, according to experts, the Europeans are not too eager to begin work on the extraction of blue fuel in practice as soon as possible. It is possible that all those discussions in the EU that are related to “shale” issues are just political speculation. And in fact, Europeans, in principle, are not going to develop gas production in an unconventional way. At least in the near future.
Complaints dismissed
There is evidence that in those areas of the United States where shale gas is being produced, environmental consequences have already made themselves felt - not only at the level of industrial research, but also among ordinary citizens. Americans living in the vicinity of the wells, where fracking is used, began to notice that the tap water lost much in quality. They are trying to protest against the production of shale gas in their area. However, their capabilities, experts believe, are not comparable with the resources of energy corporations. The business scheme is quite simple. When claims arise from citizens, they form “expert opinions” by hiring environmentalists. In accordance with these documents, drinking water should be in perfect order. If residents are not satisfied with these papers, then gas workers, as reported in a number of sources, pay them pre-trial compensation in return for signing non-disclosure agreements on such transactions. As a result, a citizen loses the right to report something to the press.
Verdict will not burden
If lawsuits are nevertheless initiated, then decisions made not in favor of energy companies, in fact, are not very burdensome for gas companies. In particular, for some of them, corporations undertake to supply citizens at their own expense with drinking water from environmentally friendly sources or to install treatment equipment for them. But if in the first case the affected residents, in principle, can be satisfied, then in the second - as experts believe - there may not be a special reason for optimism, since some harmful substances can still leak through the filters.
Authorities decide
Among experts there is an opinion that interest in oil shale in the USA, as well as in many other countries of the world, is more political. This, in particular, can be evidenced by the fact that many gas corporations are supported by the government - especially in such an aspect as tax incentives. Experts estimate the economic viability of the “shale revolution” ambiguously.
Drinking water factor
Above, we talked about what Ukrainian experts question the prospects for shale gas production in their country, largely due to the fact that fracking technology may require the consumption of large amounts of drinking water. I must say that similar concerns are expressed by experts from other states. The fact is that a shortage of drinking water even without shale gas is already observed in many regions of the planet. And it is likely that a similar situation can soon be observed in developed countries. And the "shale revolution", of course, will only help accelerate this process.
