Hydraulic Fracturing Archives - Environment + Energy Leader

Four Years after Oil Price Correction, Are Energy Producing States Recovering?

September 27, 2018 by Guest Author

The proliferation of hydraulic fracking to extract oil and natural gas has been one of the most profound drivers of regional-level growth prospects in recent memory. With the oil price correction of 2014, state economies with large energy footprints were hit hard. How are energy producing states faring now?

Water Use in Fracking Steadily Increases, Says New Study

August 22, 2018October 11, 2019 by Jennifer Nastu

The water used for fracking in major shale gas and oil production regions has increased by 770% per well between 2011 and 2016, according to a study published in ScienceAdvances. The study, from researchers at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, additionally found that the water-use intensity (normalized to ... Read more »

EPA says Fracking May Taint Water Supplies After All

December 15, 2016December 14, 2016 by Ken Silverstein

President Obama's EPA has given the incoming Trump administration something to think sip on -- whether fracking for natural gas has a negative effect on drinking water supplies.

Fracking Wastewater Treatment Spending to Triple

November 6, 2014November 5, 2014 by Ken Jennison

Wastewater treatment spending for fracking is expected to grow almost three-fold, from $138 million in 2014 to $357 million in 2020, according to a report by Bluefield Research. Overall, the US fracking industry will spend $6.38 billion in 2014 on water management, including water supply, transport, storage, treatment and disposal. ... Read more »

Tracers Developed for Tracking Frack Fluids

October 20, 2014October 17, 2014 by Ken Jennison

A team of US and French scientists have developed geochemical tracers that can identify hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids that have been spilled or released into the environment, giving oil and gas drillers a new tool for monitoring water quality near their operations. The tracers have been field-tested at a spill ... Read more »

Fracking May Face Severe Water Competition

September 3, 2014September 5, 2014 by Ken Jennison

Hydraulic fracturing companies working to develop shale gas may encounter intense competition for water, as 38 percent of the world’s shale resources are either under extremely high water stress or facing arid conditions, according to a report by the World Resources Institute. The report ranks water stress across the 20 ... Read more »

Anadarko, Encana, Pioneer, Apache Have Greatest Fracking Water Risks

February 7, 2014February 7, 2014 by Tamar Wilner

Anadarko, Encana, Pioneer and Apache have the highest exposure to water exposure risks among hydraulic fracturing companies, according to a report by Ceres. But many more companies connected to fracking face long-term water sourcing risks, according to the non-profit. These include the top three service providers, Halliburton, Schlumberger and Baker Hughes, ... Read more »

Policy & Enforcement: Wal-Mart Safety, S. Korea Power Crunch, Calif. Offshore Fracking

August 12, 2013August 12, 2013 by Leon Walker

Wal-Mart Stores has resolved two Occupational Safety and Health Administration enforcement actions by agreeing to improve worker safety and health conditions in nearly 2,900 Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club stores, following alleged repeat and serious violations at a store in Rochester, N.Y. The company also will pay a $190,000 fine, Bloomberg ... Read more »

Standards & Compliance: Fracking Water, Denver ISO, Gazprom

July 30, 2013November 21, 2013 by Tamar Wilner

An ASTM International subcommittee has formed to develop standards to assess water quality of fracking fluids and determine impacts of a spill, including possible contamination. Subcommittee D19.09 on Water – Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids is developing the proposed standard WK40832, Test Method for Measurement of Dissolved Gases Methane, Ethane, Ethylene and Propane ... Read more »

Policy & Enforcement Briefing: RGGI Emissions Limits, Pesticide Ban

July 22, 2013July 22, 2013 by Tamar Wilner

Preliminary findings of a federal study into fracking show no evidence that chemicals from a western Pennsylvania drilling operation contaminated drinking water aquifers. The AP describes this as the first independent study into whether the chemicals from normal drilling operations pose a threat to people. Federal judge Carl Barbier dismissed ... Read more »

Competition for water in US shale energy development

Fracking Should Up Recycled Water Use, Ceres Says

May 3, 2013May 3, 2013 by Jessica Lyons Hardcastle

Hydraulic fracturing operations should scale up their use of recycled water and non-freshwater resources, and practice better water management planning if shale energy production is to grow as projected, a Ceres research paper says. Most fracking to extract shale gas is happening in water-stressed regions of the US, such as ... Read more »

Aquatech to Treat Shale Gas Wastewater

February 19, 2013February 19, 2013 by Kirsten Korosec

Industrial water and wastewater technology company Aquatech has been granted a permit to operate a Pennsylvania facility targeting regional shale gas producers. The facility, located in Tioga County, will feature Aquatech’s MoTreat and MoVap process units, a pretreatment and distillation evaporator system designed to treat drill fluids, frac flowback, production ... Read more »

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