The speaker on Tuesday 19th January was club member Gordon Mackie whose address was ‘To Frack or not to Frack’ and the question being put forward to Members was "Could this be a solution to the UK's forthcoming energy problem" or "Was this an unacceptable step too far".  The content of the presentation illustrated some of the facts associated with proposed fracking operations in the UK. Comparisons were made with actual fracking operations in the USA, where possible, from which conclusions could be drawn.

 

The key facts being presented were:

  • Fracking for shale gas in the USA was usually found in seams about 0.5Km deep and "Wet" gas was being extracted which contained by-products that could be captured and sold, thus enhancing the value and rendering the operation economically attractive.  In the UK it is expected that seams containing shale gas would normally be found about 1.5Km to 2Km deep with the majority of the gas extracted being classified as "dry", ie, .lacking by-products which might enhance operational economics.  From this it might be concluded that UK operations would be more expensive that those in the USA.
  • A typical fracking installation would include a large "pond" about 0.5 to 1.0 Ha in order to hold flowback water.  Aerial photo graphs of existing installations in Pennsylvania were presented  in addition to schematic views of typical drilling operations.  It is expected that UK operations will be well regulated in order to monitor environmental conditions in the vicinity of shale gas extraction which is expected to add to the overall cost of extraction.
  • To date extraction companies such as Caudrilla have still to provide an indication of the anticipated cost of extraction.
  • It is expected that each pad will extract the shale gas through 10 boreholes (6 boreholes per pad in the USA) and will operate within a 1.2Km radius from the pad.  The conclusion drawn from this was that many pads will be required in order to collect the gas over an area.  If the USA model is followed the UK may require tens of thousands of wells in order for shale gas extraction to make a substantial contribution to energy supply.
  • The output from a typical shale gas installation reduces by more than 80% in the first two years of operation and it will effectively draw 95% of the shale gas reserves over the first 3-4 years of operation.
  • In terms of shale gas's contribution to the UK's future energy needs, it is expected that this will be in the order of 3-4% by 2030.
  • In relation to seismic activity the recent earth tremor in Lancashire measured 2.3 on the Richter scale and occurred 10 hours after fracking had ceased.  This seismic activity can be associated with traffic movements and would not be felt, except by a very few under especially favourable conditions. It is suggested that most fracking operations might have a measure of 0.5, ie, not really noticeable.