Some Concerns about High-Pressure Hydrofracturing of Shale Gas Reservoirs

A. N. Palmer Professor Emeritus, Water Resources SUNY Oneonta 1-23-2012 I am not antagonistic toward oil and gas development, having worked for oil companies in the past. But Im also a specialist in groundwater hydrology and see some potential problems: The most favorable paths for uid migration are fractures, especially those that have been articially formed or enlarged by fracking. Their distribution is difcult to predict. Poorly sealed (or entirely unsealed) wells allow much greater leakage. There When uid is injected into shale to create and are thousands in New York State that are abandoned enlarge fractures, withdrawal of gas is made easier and mostly undocumented. Leaks all the way to the because the permeability of the rock is greatly surface are possible. increased. This requires high pressure typically ~2500 pounds per square inch at the well. Pressures in the shale dissipate as soon as the ow is reversed at the well, and most of the uids injected What is the effect of these pressures on groundwater? into the shale and surrounding rocks are also drawn 2500 psi is enough to raise a column of water 1.09 back. But residual contamination remains. Also, mile! [See Fig. 1.] That is the height to which the water can be raised by the pressure at the well. As a result, while injection is taking place, uids can easily be driven upward through intervening beds, including aquifers. This involves water, fracking uids, and gases. The pressure is exerted not only vertically but in all directions, so contaminants, natural or introduced, can be injected into surrounding strata, including aquifers, while the fracking is in progress. It doesnt matter that typical aquifers are only hundreds of feet below the surface while shale gas production is thousands of feet below. While fracking is in progress, the pressure in the shale is enough to drive uids as high as the land surface if the rocks are permeable enough.

Fig. 1: Distribution of pressure in ground during fracking, with 2500 psi pressure at the well. Pressures are later reversed to remove the uids, but some contaminants remain in both the shale and surrounding rocks.

uids withdrawn from the well include high levels So any residual contaminants from fracking will of radium, which is abundant in most shales. Radium eventually move laterally and emerge in adjacent decays to radon gas. Both are radioactive. valleys, which may be miles away. Valley aquifers are the greatest sources of groundwater for When shale-gas production ceases, the groundwater municipal, domestic, and industrial use, because gradually returns to its original ow pattern. It is thats where the greatest population centers are well known that natural groundwater ow follows located in the gas-rich plateau regions of the state. long curving paths that extend deep below the The concept of offset from water supplies (e.g. surface and rise into valleys [Figs. 2 & 3]. This is 4000 ft) is inappropriate for this kind of contaminant easily proved by application of hydraulic laws and transport. Contaminants can also rise directly to the by measurements in wells. surface through unsealed wells, if the well bottoms

Fig. 2: Local pattern of groundwater ow in the vicinity of water wells, before and after gas production. Note the ow paths toward the valleys, interrupted only locally by pumping of wells.

Fig. 3: Regional ow of groundwater from uplands to valleys (using groundwater modeling software of U.S. Geological Survey). Even with very low slopes of the land surface and water table, groundwater ows inevitably toward the valleys. Flow rates are slower at depth because of greater distances and usu- ally lower permeability, but the overall direction of ow is unaffected. X = unsealed gas or oil well that can leak contaminants to the surface. In areas of rising ow, the head at depth can be higher than the overly- ing land, allowing water to leak to the surface, just as in artesian conditions.

are located near valleys where the hydraulic head Until then, if fracking is permitted, limit it to areas of increases with depth [as at X in Fig. 3]. low population density and low topographic relief. Levels of contamination in adjacent valleys may be undetectable for a long time, but will then continue to rise over many years and subside gradually over an even longer time. The time-line can easily be hundreds of years or more, depending on the distance of ow and geologic setting. Avoid developing gas reservoirs that lie at shallow depth. Anticipate the overall pattern and velocity of groundwater. Do not trust the validity of xed offset distances to water supplies.

Avoid karst areas (which contain caves and sinkholes), because contaminants can spread rapidly Injected uids contain, among other things, carcino- and over large distances through solution conduits genic chemicals, and today there is no requirement [Fig. 4]. that all chemicals be identied. From a single properly installed gas well, contamination is likely to be so dispersed that it will never cause a problem. But as more wells are fracked, the background contamination will continue to rise and spread throughout the entire region. Contaminant levels may remain below the limits for drinking water, but there are many historical examples of low-level contamination eventually being recognized as more serious than predicted. The histories of DDT, PCBs, etc. come to mind. Near-surface contamination is routinely remediated by various methods, but they are expensive and often ineffective. If contaminants from fracking

become widely dispersed, and are found to pose a health problem, remediation will be impossible, both physically and economically. This is my main concern the inability to recover if such a problem is encountered.
Suggestions: Contamination is the major threat posed by fracking. So it is reasonable to recommend the following: Wait until the technology has matured for example, when non-polluting fracking uids have become feasible (for example, liquid nitrogen, which would require only a a few truckloads).
Fig. 4: Typical underground stream in a limestone cave. Water passes through the ground rapidly and without ltration.