Hydraulic fracturing -- or hydro fracking, or just plain fracking -- is one way that we can get at "hidden" reserves of natural gas, petroleum -- even water. It sounds extremely complicated (and is, in fact, a pretty cool feat of science and engineering), but fracking is a fairly simple process. Way far underground (we're talking some 7,000 feet/2,133 meters below the surface), rocks like shale can hold gases, water or oil in their pores. Hydraulic fracking moves that resource from the pores of the rocks to production wells
Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability & Business Risks
Experts from the World Resources Institute (WRI), Apache Corporation, and Natural Resources Defense Council will host a press call to discuss key findings from a new report, Global Shale Gas Development: Water Availability & Business Risks, the first-ever public analysis of water availability across all potential commercial shale resources worldwide. The press call will take place on Tuesday, September 2, 2014.
38 percent of shale resources are in areas that are either arid or under high to extremely high levels of water stress;
19 percent are in areas of high or extremely high seasonal variability; and
15 percent are in locations exposed to high or extremely high drought severity.
Eight of the top 20 countries with the largest shale gas resources face arid conditions or high to extremely high baseline water stress where the shale resources are located; this includes China, Algeria, Mexico, South Africa, Libya, Pakistan, Egypt, and India.
Eight of the top 20 countries with the largest tight oil resources face arid conditions or high to extremely high baseline water stress where the shale resources are located; this includes China, Libya, Mexico, Pakistan, Algeria, Egypt, India, and Mongolia.
Shale basin and water stress in USA
Today shale development is rapid in USA, however there is medium to high risk to water resources.
Shale basin and water stress in Russia
Let go to Russia, shale basin found in less water risk zone. It means potentially to developing shale extraction.
Shale basin and water stress in China
China has largest shale resources in the world, and energy demand is high and growing 60% annual. Although China is rated as High risk, when zoom in to the country, some shale basin found in less water risk zone, like Sichuan （四川）, Hubei （湖北）.
Shale basin and water stress in SEA
How about South East Asia (SEA), some shale basins are found in Thailand and Indonesia, and they are in low risk zone.
An Inconvenient Truth: Fracking Shale
Fracking is required mix water with chemical to improve the performance well. The chemical content VOC (volatile organic compound), heavy metal, radioactive substance, etc. How to 100% ensure it wont leak and contamination to ecosystem?
Summary & Opinion
Shale extraction is the trend of Oil and Gas industry. The development of any shale field has considered technology, economic, and environmental risk.
As per data, USA is not suitable to develop shale field due to water resource risk. In money dominated era, everything is driven by money, other things (environment) can be put it aside.
Shale oil changes the world energy landscape, even leading the oil price down recently. It seem beneficial to US as oil importer. The shale oil and gas are booming and change the world, but what price to the people?
As a politician, authority, organisation, engineer, or people, everyone must has responsibility to the people, community, country, world, animals and plants. We have duty to preserve resource for next generation.
Oil price Jan - Dec 2014
References:
How Hydraulic Fracking Works, http://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/energy/hydraulic-fracking.htm
Animation of Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VY34PQUiwOQ
An Inconvenient Truth: Fracking Shale, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uokmsSi7LTY
Glossary: WTI (West Texas Intermedium) - WTI refers to oil extracted from wells in the U.S. It is light and sweet (low sulfur), a high quality crude oil. US as a big oil consumption country, coupled with the New York Futures Exchange
in global influence, WTI crude oil futures is global benchmark of oil price. The public and the media usually say the number of
dollars in oil, mainly refers to the WTI price.
Brent Blend - Similar to WTI, Brent is light and sweet crude oil too. At 23 June 1988, on London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE) launched Brent crude
oil futures contract, it been used as benchmark for the north-western Europe, North
Sea, Mediterranean, Africa and Yemen and other countries and regions. Roughly two-thirds of all crude contracts around the world reference Brent Blend, making it the most widely used marker of all.
Dubai/Oman – This is a useful reference for oil of Middle Eastern crude. It is a slightly lower grade than WTI or Brent. This is benchmark of well-known OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) oil prices. It mainly export to Asian countries, therefore it tends to reflect
the status of Asian demand for crude oil.
