Monday 17 December 2012

Fracking: what is it and why are we doing it?

So, we're running out of oil and natural gas. Right?
Wrong. There are still plentiful supplies of both, however the number of easily tapable resources are getting fewer, and whilst the discussions over what to do with old Oil reservoirs continues (worth doing some research on Carbon sequestration).
Eventually traditional methids of extracting hydrocarbons will exhaust supplies, so scientists are turning to reserves that have previously not needed to be used, either becaue they are too expensive, we didn't have the technology to extract them, or Governments were afraid of environmental reprucussions.
However we now find our selves in a position where we need to turn to the reserves. President Obama has already alluded to the need for the US to develop its oil sands (more commonly referred to as Tar Sands) extraction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_sands
with controversial outcomes.

Now Britain is looking to increase its resources of Natural Gas through a controversial process known as Fracking. Until recently it was banned following damage done to local houses. However the Government recently, and controversially, lifted the Ban and opened the reserves up for exploitation.

In simple terms Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing as it is officially known, is a method of freeing gas trapped in rocks by injected water at high pressure into resevoir rocks (in this case non-permeable shale), this cause the rocks to fracture and so release the gas.
Infographic showing shale gas extraction
This is controversial for a number of reasons. The following links explore this in more detail, and will allow you to form an opinion of your own. But the ultimate question here is: To what lengths should we go in order to meet our demands for hydrocarbons?
Something else worth exploring is the difference between reserves and resources.

BBC News - Fracking, untangling the myths
Telegraph - How much gas can Fracking provide?
This next site also contains a link to a document on Fracking from the Environment Summit held in Rio in 2012:
Friends of the Earth - say no to Fracking
Uni of Rochester - fracking feasible if practiced safely

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