Fracking in Pennsylvania

Rustum Khawaja & Rakan Al Mutairi

A Tale
A scientist named M.King Hubbert predicted that oil will run out in 50 years from now.
Predicting that the most efficient and cheapest form of energy may be obsolete in a time when
the thirst for energy is more than ever, is a scary thought for anyone who uses a car to get to
work, or even enjoys artificial light at night. What is even scarier is that his predictions thus far
have been nearly perfect. This is why and when alternative energies are sought with the outmost
perfection and need. Our love for oil may not backfire on us as a society, but instead fail to
quench our need for cheap energy as long as we may hope. One may then consider solar power,
wind power, or biotechnology. However in today’s day, those alternatives seem to be just that -
alternatives. History has shown us that it is the fossil fuels that provide best. Being the cheapest
as well as most efficient the fossil fuels, oil, coal, and natural gas are the three fuels that best suit
today’s capitalistic society. However, it is the fossil fuels that tax heaviest on our environment
and it is for that reason, which we as a society must choose to focus in on natural gas as opposed
to coal. Coal, being the fuel heaviest inducer of pollution to our environment must be our last
option to a cheap and efficient energy source. Therefore, Natural gas is the next best alternative
to oil. Found beneath about sixty percent of Pennsylvania’s total land mass natural gas is cheap,
efficient, bountiful and definitely something to look into.

The image to the left shows different ways of

well treatment ’stimulation’ The process of
well-stimulation is a complex procedure that
can be done in many different ways to
extract natural gas from the ground.

Image from: http://thegasgun.com/wp/wp-

content/uploads/2008/05/cutaway-72dpi.jpg

What is Hydraulic Fracturing?

Hydraulic Fracturing is essentially a process used to increase or restore the rate at which fluids
can generate from a reservoir using fluid to open a fracture in the rock at hand, and cause it to
grow into the rock. The method artificially increases the pore size of the formation’s permeable
rocks which carries hydrocarbons by using certain fluids ’proppant’ in order to increase the
production rate. This process can naturally happen, but in order to increase production rate, man
can create the process to use the great source of energy. In even simpler terms, hydraulic
fracturing is a process that increases the production rate. For example, if one were to picture an
oak tree, with great roots collecting water and nutrients. Hydraulic fracturing would be the
process of installing more roots, so that more water can be brought up. With hydraulic fracturing
however, chemicals are used to increase the pore size of the rocks and create cracks or
“fractures” to increase production rates.

Energy in Depth policy director Lee Full stated, “One-hundred and fifty years after Pennsylvania
gave us the world’s first commercial oil well, the critical work of finding and producing the
energy our nation needs continues in the natural gas fields of Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale.”
The Marcellus Shale is a sedimentary rock formation that spreads across the states of New York,
Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, and Ohio. Deposited over 350 million years, the shale is
relatively thick and contains great organic material, yielding more gas than the average shale in
America. Full explains that in one year, 50,000 jobs are expected to be created and that, for
every $1 that Marcellus shale gas producers spend on the production and exploration of the
natural gas, $1.94 is the total economic output. Lee Full’s report continues to explain that,
“hydraulic fracturing is a non-negotiable tool for making these resources and revenues possible.”
In his own words, “This remarkable, almost unbelievable increase in estimated [natural gas]
reserves is due to technological advancements in horizontal drilling and … the implementation
of hydrofracturing.” In other words, in order to truly take advantage of the opportunities and
availabilities of the Marcellus shale, America must make use of hydraulic fracturing.

There is a negative side to making use of the Marcellus shale to quench America’s thirst for
energy however. In June 2010, Seanator Jim Ferlo and Congressman Joe Sestak took action in
Hickory Pennsylvania, calling for a suspension on drilling until environmental concerns were
addressed. Residents of Clearfield County, Pa also sparked concern amongst officials when the
residents spoke of apprehension of their water supply. Township manager Ross Walker said,
“It’s creating fumes in the air, very bad chemicals in water supplies. Creeks and ponds have
been ruined.” Continuing to further negate the process, he explains that the whole process is
moving too fast and that a suspension on drilling will give the County time to prepare. “This is
happening too fast and it wouldn’t be too bad to have one year moratorium so the township can
react to this.”

Others however feel differently about the situation. Roji Hoskin of Washington County, Pa is
leasing her land to the drilling company, Range Resources and she believes that, “they have been
very careful, very cautious…” A representative from the company is quoted responding to
statements comparing accidents with Marcellus Shale and the Gulf Oil Spill of 2010 saying,
“there lies a stark contrast between deep shore oil drilling and much safer lower risk on shore
natural gas development, despite that, safety is still a top priority. Clearly there is a great debate
about the Marcellus Shale and extracting the gases within it.

The Process
Conventional oil and Natural gas traps are
confined within permeable rock formations.
During the formation of these traps and due
to enormous pore pressure, water will uplift
the lighter elements which are the
hydrocarbons in this case upward, thus, it’s
relatively easier to extract it afterwards. On
the other hand, ‘Unconventional’
hydrocarbons aquifers tend to have
impermeable beds of rocks overlying it; these
rocks are sedimentary and fine grained and
are usually Shale, much like the kind found in
Pennsylvania, in the Marcellus Shale. Due to the rapid development of drilling technology,
drilling through and producing from unconventional aquifers isn’t as much difficult as it was in
the past. Hydraulic fracturing is used in these cases to artificially create factures or lengthening it
within a certain rock bed to increase the trapped Oil and Natural gas up flow, making production
in large amounts of these certain aquifers possible and significantly more economically-
desirable, However, Hydraulic fracturing raises an important issue regarding the environment
surrounding the rocks targeted.
Fracking & The Environment
In order to keep the fractures open, certain fluids are injected in, and it is these fluids that may
endanger the freshwater aquifers. Water-based fluids are usually used in this process where the
water is accounting for 99% of the compound while the 1% left is the environmentalists’
concern. Hydrochloric Acid which is most of the 1% is what places freshwater aquifers in
danger. Shale and other impermeable rocks keep the Natural gas from being up lifted due to the
enormous pressure, therefore, creating an isolation layer between contaminants and freshwater
aquifers, therefore fracturing (or making the original fractures longer) may collapse the isolation
layer establishing a linkage between contaminants and fresh-water formations in close proximity.
If done properly, drilling, pumping of fluids, and the casing of the hole (by the use of cement to
keep it from collapsing) will not cause any damage to the freshwater reservoirs. This does not
mean it is something to discount or disregard, but instead something that is possible but unlikely,
as hydraulic fracturing is a process that has been used for decades globally.

Proper drilling, pumping of fluids, casing of the hole and at last production will not cause any
damage to the freshwater reservoirs and examples of using such technique as Hydraulic
fracturing are found in New York, Virginia and a lot of parts in the world for over 50 years. Lou
D’Amico, president of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, stated that
hydraulic fracturing “has not impacted local wells” and “is not a threat to water supplies”.

Any spills or leaks of the drilling fluids or the Natural Gas produced are a result of the operators’
lack of care or recklessness, as to what took place in Dimock, PA. According to ProPublica.com,
More than 8000 gallons of hazardous drilling fluids found its way to a nearby creek killing fish.
Metal and methane were also detected in the drinking water in homes nearby. State officials
suspect that these substances leaked from underneath, from Cabot and Oil wells (the company
responsible.) Later the company was fined but still the definite source of these chemicals
remains unknown.

Why It’s legal

In most areas of the United States, it’s against the law to dump even a few pints of toxins and
chemicals into the ground. However in the Marcellus Shale, companies are found using over
260 different chemicals in the process of hydrofracking. Some of these chemicals include
benzene and many other different kinds of toxic substances, but it seems in states like
Pennsylvania and even New York, authorities seem to be drawing a blind eye to the hundreds of
multi-national corporations who have flocked to the area to gain all the benefits that the
Marcellus shale has to offer. Why one may ask? The first thing that comes to mind when it
comes to environmental law, and the Marcellus shale would be the Clean Water Act. Created by
the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), an agency created and given the power to do
whatever necessary by Congress, the Clean Water Act even covers ground sources like wells and
aquifers. The Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974 may also come to mind when discussing
hydraulic fracturing. However, hydraulic fracturing was exempt from both and again reaffirmed
by the EPA under the Bush administration. Fracking was even exempt from the Energy Policy
Act of 2005, and the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act of 1976 which goes over the use
and disposal of toxic chemicals. Essentially, Fracking is “governmentally-covered” in all sorts
of directions. The chemical brines (a type of water based-chemical) used in hydraulic fracturing
is even considered propriety and so corporations involved have no compulsion to disclose what’s
in them, and so-they often times don’t.

Utilizing Hydraulic Fracturing, in the Marcellus shale, despite the risks is imperative when
keeping under consideration how it may help heal today’s fragile economy. But as mentioned, it
can have dreadful side effects. The technique is like a two edged sword; as long as it’s applied in
an appropriate way it will yield ultimate results but the slightest amount of error or disregard
could cause an unimaginably atrocious crisis. William Penn, once said “A good end cannot
sanctify evil meas; nor must we ever do evil, that good may come of it.”

Work Cited
Lustgarten, A. “Frack Fluid Spill in Dimock Contaminates Stream, Killing Fish”. 2008. Web. 20 June
2010, from http://www.propublica.org/feature/frack-fluid-spill-in-dimock-contaminates-stream-
killing-fish-921

Anthony, Andrews, Claudia Copeland, Peter Folger, Marc Humphries, and Robert Meltz. "Natural Gas
Drilling in the Marcellus Shale." Congress Research Service, 9 Sept. 2009. Web. 5 June
2010. <http://www.wvsoro.org/resources/marcellus/CRS_Marcellus_Shale_09_09_09.pdf>.

Myers, R. “Environmental Dangers of Hydro-Fracturing the Marcellus Shale”. 2010, May 18

. 2008. Web. 20 June 2010,from http://www.lhup.edu/rmyers3/marcellus.htm

Casey, B. “PSU Report Credits Hydraulic Fracturing, Marcellus Shale With 30K PA Jobs in ’08, Openly
Questions Sen. Casey’s Anti-Frac Bill. 2008. Web. 20 June 2010, from
 http://www.energyindepth.org/2009/07/psu-report-credits-hydraulic-fracturing-
marcellus- shale-with-30k-pa-jobs-in-08-openly-questions-sen-caseys-anti-frac-bill

Casey, T. “It’s About Fracking Time! U.S. EPA Lights a Fire Under Hydraulic Fracturing”. 2008. Web.
20 June 2010, from http://cleantechnica.com/2010/03/20/its-about-fracking-time-u-s-
epa-lights- a-fire-under-hydraulic-fracturing/

Maykuth, A. “ Gas Drilling Going Deep”. The Philadelphia Inquirer. 2008. Web. 20 June 2010.

"State Lawmakers Call For Drilling Moratorium In Pa." wpxi.com. N.p., June 2010. Web. 14 June 2010.
<http://www.wpxi.com/news/23888680/detail.html>.