A Critical Review of the Risks to Water Resources from Unconventional Shale Gas Development and Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States

2014 ◽  
Vol 48 (15) ◽  
pp. 8334-8348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avner Vengosh ◽  
Robert B. Jackson ◽  
Nathaniel Warner ◽  
Thomas H. Darrah ◽  
Andrew Kondash
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
The United States

Shale, Quakes, and High Stakes: Regulating Fracking-Induced Seismicity in Oklahoma, USA and Lancashire, UK

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Miriam R. Aczel ◽  
Karen E. Makuch
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
Seismic Activity ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas Industry ◽  
High Volume ◽  
The United States ◽  
Horizontal Drilling ◽  
Induced Seismic Activity

High-volume hydraulic fracturing combined with horizontal drilling has “revolutionized” the United States’ oil and gas industry by allowing extraction of previously inaccessible oil and gas trapped in shale rock [1]. Although the United States has extracted shale gas in different states for several decades, the United Kingdom is in the early stages of developing its domestic shale gas resources, in the hopes of replicating the United States’ commercial success with the technologies [2, 3]. However, the extraction of shale gas using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling poses potential risks to the environment and natural resources, human health, and communities and local livelihoods. Risks include contamination of water resources, air pollution, and induced seismic activity near shale gas operation sites. This paper examines the regulation of potential induced seismic activity in Oklahoma, USA, and Lancashire, UK, and concludes with recommendations for strengthening these protections.

State Support and Assessment of the Feasibility of Shale Gas Production

2021 ◽  
pp. 225-236
Author(s):  
Mikhail I. Khoroshiltsev
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Industrial Sector ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Technological Breakthrough ◽  
Tight Reservoirs ◽  
Hydrocarbon Deposits

The article analyzes shale gas production in the United States and calculates its economic efficiency. The development of shale gas production became possible due to the combination of tight reservoirs in a single technological process of drilling and hydraulic fracturing. A technological breakthrough in gas production made it economically attractive for investors (considering the prices of that period) to develop unconventional hydrocarbon deposits. At the same time, like any new industrial sector, the development of shale gas is associated with significant costs at various levels.

scholarly journals Public perceptions of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas and oil in the United States and Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Merryn Thomas ◽  
Nick Pidgeon ◽  
Darrick Evensen ◽  
Tristan Partridge ◽  
Ariel Hasell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Perceptions

scholarly journals Review of USА legislation in the field of environmental and legal regulation of shale gas production: experience for Ukraine

2020 ◽  
pp. 505-513
Author(s):  
Mykhaiskyi Oleksii
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Environmental Protection ◽  
Shale Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
The State ◽  
Production Sharing ◽  
The Law

Ensuring energy security has always been one of Ukraine's main problems. Now the level of shale gas production in Ukraine allows to cover only half of the country's needs in this type of fuel. According to the Energy Strategy of Ukraine until 2035, one of the priorities of development in the fuel and energy sector is to increase the level of gas production to 30–35 billion m3 of gas per year, including at the expense of non-traditional hydrocarbons, among which shale gas can be allocated. However, it should be noted that Ukraine's modern mining industry does not provide an adequate level of environmental protection. This problem becomes even more acute in the context of the possible production of shale gas, which requires state-of-the-art production technologies and a flexible regulatory system. Today, the United States is the most developed country in shale gas production. It is the United States that has the largest experience of shale gas production among all countries of the world, and its legislation has been shaped by the realities of shale gas production since the 1980s. The article analyzed U.S. legislation in terms of environmental and legal regulation of shale gas production. Consideration has been given to U.S. legislation that regulates the protection of water, air, soil from pollution, as well as waste management legislation and the disclosure of confidential information related to shale gas extraction necessary to protect the environment, as well as human life and health. The US legislative structure is analyzed and it is revealed that federal legislation does not provide the proper level of environmental protection, which is why the environmental and legal regulation of shale gas production occurs mainly at the state level. The main problem of regulating shale gas production at the federal level is the so-called «Halibarton loophole», due to which operations using hydraulic fracturing are removed from the regulation of most federal environmental standards. There is no such norm in Ukrainian legislation, but the Law of Ukraine "On Agreements on Division of Products" is not regulated by the Law of Ukraine "On Oil and Gas," this makes it possible to fix in the agreement on division of products all nuances related to shale gas production. At the same time, this is a significant risk of the occurrence of a case in which the agreement, contrary to Ukrainian legislation, will neglect the interests of the environment. That is why Ukraine needs standards like NAAQS, which also apply to legal relations arising from the signing of a production sharing agreement, which would avoid disregard of Ukrainian legislation when signing a production sharing agreement. The article also addresses the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act and states that it requires an operator using hydraulic fracturing to provide information necessary for medical diagnosis, treatment or emergency response. In doing so, the operator, once such information has been disclosed to the State or health worker, may require a written declaration of the need for disclosure and a confidentiality agreement as soon as possible after it has been determined by the State or medical institution. It is proposed to develop a similar bill and introduce it into Ukrainian legislation.

Arsenic in Ground-Water Resources of the United States

Fact Sheet ◽  
2000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alan H. Welch ◽  
Sharon A. Watkins ◽  
Dennis R. Helsel ◽  
Michael J. Focazio
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Ground Water ◽  
The United States
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