Marcellus Shale Fracking

August 5th, 2011 | Author: richhill

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The process of Marcellus Shale Fracking for the trapped shale natural gas and oil reserves that are up to 9000 feet below the surface are still in the news. The source of most of the problems between the local communities and the energy industry is what is to be done with the waste water that is used in the fracking process.

What most do not realize is that over 99.5% of this waste water is only water and sand. The remaining chemicals are acids and VOC that are of the major concern by the uninformed. VOC stands for volatile organic compound which by its nature will evaporate at room temperature. This occurs on a regular basis while the waste water is sitting in the collection ponds waiting for treatment.

The acids in the water are small in proportion to the overall volume of the water but can still be easily adjusted as all water is done at a water treatment facility. This is a common practice in all the drinking water that is available today across the nation.

Unfortunately because of the misconception of the danger this waste water poses, a moratorium has been placed on the wells over the Marcellus Shale deposit in some places. This has hit the local economy hard with the laying off of all the workers associated with the drilling process. The number of wells is over 1,800 at this time, each with a crew and mechanism for supplies including the transloading stations.

What really needs to get out is that hydrofracking has been used for over 100 years in all areas of this country and the world to help extract the maximum amount of energy reserves for existing wells. The statements that are being made that this is a new technique are totally false and misleading.

While many Americans do not believe what big businesses say anymore or trust the US government to protect their rights is somewhat warranted. The leading problem is the moratorium is put in place over fear and not facts. While there have been a few problems, the massive majority of the wells that have been hydrofracked, over 99.999%, have had no problems associated with them.

The Marcellus Shale Fracking processes are the best and least expensive chance America has at supplying the needs of the domestic consumer with the energy they are still demanding. The alternative is importing our energy at a higher cost and then being dependent on the foreign source for our future needs.