US Geological Survey will link FRACKING to EARTHQUAKES

[Satyagraha]

Upcoming UGGS Fracking Report Game Changer?
http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Upcoming-UGGS-Fracking-Report-Game-Changer.html
By John Daly | Wed, 11 April 2012 22:22

There is currently no more contested U.S. energy initiative than to pen up the country’s vast potential reserves of natural gas by utilizing the “hydraulic fracturing” technique, more familiarly known as “fracking.”

To its proponents, fracking offers a way out of U.S. dependence on foreign energy imports, and is relatively environmentally benign.

To opponents of the technique, it not only has the potential to pollute underground water reserves, but leads to an increased possibility of earthquakes, as the injection of massive amounts of water underground along with chemical mixtures which the industry is fighting to not disclose increase the possibility of seismic activity.

Now, the federal U.S. Geological Survey has reluctantly waded into the debate, with a USGS research team saying in a just released abstract of an upcoming study that a remarkable increase in earthquake occurrence in the U.S. in the Midwestern region of the country, from Alabama to the Northern Rockies in the past decade is “almost certainly man-made.”

The full study will be presented at the upcoming annual meeting of the Seismological Society of America later this month. The el Cerrito, California-based Seismological Society of America, which describes itself as “an international scientific society devoted to the advancement of seismology and its applications in understanding and mitigating earthquake hazards and in imaging the structure of the earth.”

The USGS study acknowledges "a remarkable increase in the rate of (magnitude 3.0) and greater earthquakes" in the United States, noting, "While the seismicity rate changes described here are almost certainly manmade, it remains to be determined how they are related to either changes in extraction methodologies or the rate of oil and gas production," avoiding drawing an explicit link to oil and gas production activities as the sole causal event in the increased appearance of earthquakes in areas subjected to fracking. The study scrutinized an increase in annual recorded earthquakes from 1.2 per year in the past 50 years to more than 25 per year since 2009, noting, "A naturally-occurring rate change of this magnitude is unprecedented outside of volcanic settings or in the absence of a main shock, of which there were neither in this region."

That said, the abstract notes, "The acceleration in activity that began in 2009 appears to involve a combination of source regions of oil and gas production, including the Guy, Arkansas region, and in central and southern Oklahoma. Horton, et al. (2012) provided strong evidence linking the Guy, AK, activity to deep waste water injection wells."

The research team led by USGS geophysicist William Ellsworth noted however the frequency of earthquakes in areas subjected to fracking natural gas extraction techniques began rising in 2001 across a broad swath of the country between Alabama and Montana and culminated “in a six-fold increase over 20th century levels in 2011.” (continued)

[Dok]

 

[Optimus]

Earthquake outbreak in U.S. tied to fracking wastewater

Bloomberg News  Apr 13, 2012 – 9:05 AM ET

By Mark Drajem

A spate of earthquakes across the middle of the U.S. is “almost certainly” man-made, and may be caused by wastewater from oil or gas drilling injected into the ground, U.S. government scientists said in a study.

Researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey said that for the three decades until 2000, seismic events in the nation’s midsection averaged 21 a year. They jumped to 50 in 2009, 87 in 2010 and 134 in 2011.

Those statistics, included in the abstract of a research paper to be discussed at the Seismological Society of America conference next week in San Diego, will add pressure on an energy industry already confronting more regulation of the process of hydraulic fracturing.

“Our scientists cite a series of examples for which an uptick in seismic activity is observed in areas where the disposal of wastewater through deep-well injection increased significantly,” David Hayes, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, said in a blog post yesterday, describing research by scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey.

More: http://business.financialpost.com/2012/04/13/earthquake-outbreak-in-u-s-tied-to-fracking-wastewater/

[Dok]

earth quakes are up world wide, not just the US.

[Satyagraha]

earth quakes are up world wide, not just the US.

Good point... we assume fracking is only happening in the US - those boys have been exporting that technology...

Shale gas ‘fracking’ halted after possible quake link
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-news/shale-gas-fracking-halted-after-possible-quake-link/article2042598/
SHAWN McCARTHY — GLOBAL ENERGY REPORTER
OTTAWA— From Friday's Globe and Mail

..." U.K.-based Cuadrilla Resources suspended its hydraulic fracturing – in which chemically laced water is injected at high pressure to crack open gas-bearing rock – pending a review of the seismic activity near the Preese Hall drilling site.

The British Geological Survey said it recorded a 1.5-magnitude earthquake on Friday, following a 2.3-magnitude quake in April, both near the drilling site operated by Cuadrilla. Neither caused any damage.

In a statement posted on its website, the BGS said evidence suggests the high pressure “fracking” – as the process is also known – may have caused the quakes.

“The timing of the two events in conjunction with the fluid injection suggests that they may be related,” it said."

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Would be good to find out where they are using fracking outside the US. May be happening in an 'unannounced' way, as they so frequently do the most damage without informing the public.

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NZ launches fracking inquiry
http://abcasiapacificnews.com/stories/201203/3466581.htm
Fracking is the practice of using hydraulic fracturing to mine gas and oil from deep underground. [ABC]
Dominique Schwartz, New Zealand correspondent

Last Updated: Thu, 29 Mar 2012 13:04:00 +1100

New Zealand's environmental watchdog has announced an investigation into the consequences of the controversial mining method known as fracking.

New Zealand's Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment says there is a strong case for an official investigation into hydraulic fracturing.

Fracking is the practice of using high-pressure injection of water, sand and chemicals to fracture underground rock to release oil and gas.

The Green Party says New Zealanders should be worried about fracking which international studies have linked to drinking water contamination, health problems and earthquakes.

The New Zealand inquiry will report to parliament by the end of the year.

In Australia, the New South Wales Government has extended its fracking ban until April when a review on potential risks is complete.

However, Western Australia still allows shale gas fracking.

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Shale Goes Global
Scrappy American companies are exporting their controversial drilling techniques to Asia and Europe, where "fracking" could face less regulation.
http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/green_room/2010/11/shale_goes_global.htmlIn the blink of an eye, the United States has rocked the once-sleepy natural gas market. Since the 1950s, American energy companies have drilled into massive formations of shale rock to get at the natural gas trapped beneath them, but historically these shale gas ventures required large cash investments to access a relatively unpopular fuel. In the last few years, however, shale gas has suddenly become much more profitable, thanks to three factors: The discovery of large reserves of this low-emissions fuel, tweaks to a process called hydraulic fracturing ("fracking" for short), and improvements in drilling that allow one well to access a reserve in multiple directions. The sudden surge in the supply of natural gas has driven prices down around the world and sparked countries throughout Asia and Europe to develop their own shale gas reserves.

While ExxonMobil and Chevron have dominated the oil industry, scrappier independent companies have pioneered the shale gas industry. In a world hungry for cheap, low-carbon fuel, the shale-drilling expertise of companies like Devon Energy, Chesapeake Energy, and Range Fuels has become a hot commodity. Exxon, Shell, and ConocoPhillips have all tried to tap this expertise through mergers and buyouts. But as possible regulations loom in the United States, the American companies that pioneered the shale industry are exporting their controversial drilling techniques abroad.
(continued)

By Amy Westervelt|Posted Monday, Nov. 22, 2010, at 10:11 AM ET

[Dok]

Good point... we assume fracking is only happening in the US - those boys have been exporting that technology...

  no, i was implying a differnt source. but yes the US isnt the only one using fraking.

[Satyagraha]

no, i was implying a differnt source. but yes the US isnt the only one using fraking.

LOL .. I know.