Oil and Gas News from OilGasDaily.Com  
OIL AND GAS
Study suggests hydraulic fracturing can impact surface water quality
by Staff Writers
Chicago IL (SPX) Aug 20, 2021

stock image only

Tens of thousands of hydraulic fracturing wells drilled over the past few years from Pennsylvania to Texas to North Dakota have made unconventional oil and gas production part of everyday life for many Americans. This raises questions about the impacts to local communities and human health. While some studies document that hydraulic fracturing can contaminate groundwater, new evidence shows the practice can also reduce surface water quality.

The study, released in the journal Science, finds hydraulic fracturing is associated with small increases in salt concentrations in surface waters for several shales and many watersheds across the United States.

The largest impacts occurred during the early phases of production when wells generate large amounts of flowback and produced water. However, even the highest levels were well below what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers harmful.

"Our work provides the first large-sample evidence showing that hydraulic fracturing is related to the quality of nearby surface waters for several U.S. shales," says Christian Leuz, a co-author of the study and the Joseph Sondheimer Professor of International Economics, Finance and Accounting at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

"Though we estimated very small water impact, one has to consider that most measurements were taken in rivers or streams and that the average fracturing well in our dataset was not particularly close to the monitors in the watershed."

Leuz and his co-authors, Pietro Bonetti from the University of Navarra and Giovanna Michelon from the University of Bristol, combined surface water measurements with more than 46,000 hydraulic fracturing wells to examine whether new drilling and development activities are associated with elevated salt concentrations (bromide, chloride, barium and strontium) in 408 watersheds over an eleven-year period. They found a very small but consistent increase in barium, chloride and strontium, but not bromide, in watersheds with new hydraulic fracturing wells.

Several findings support the connection between the elevated salt levels and the nearby hydraulic fracturing activities. Along with the timing of when the highest levels occurred, the salt concentrations were also more pronounced for wells in areas where the deep formations exhibited higher levels of salinity. Additionally, they were highest when observed within a year at monitoring stations that were within 15 kilometers and (likely) downstream from a well.

"Better and more frequent water measurement is needed to fully understand the surface water impact of unconventional oil and gas development," says Bonetti, who notes that a lack of water quality data limited their analysis.

Hydraulic fracturing fluids contain chemical substances that are potentially more dangerous than salts. But they're not widely included in public databases, making a large-sample statistical analysis of these possibly hazardous substances infeasible. Also, many monitoring stations in a watershed are not located close to wells or may be upstream from the well, likely depressing the magnitude of the estimates.

"Policymakers could consider more targeted water measurement," Michelon says. "For instance, policymakers could place monitoring stations in locations where they can better track surface water impacts, increase the frequency of measurement around the time new wells are drilled, and more systematically track the other chemical substances found in fracking fluids."

Research Report: "Large-sample evidence on the impact of unconventional oil and gas development on surface waters"


Related Links
University Of Chicago
All About Oil and Gas News at OilGasDaily.com


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


OIL AND GAS
DLR and Siemens conduct research into turbines for the energy transition
Berlin, Germany (SPX) Aug 19, 2021
Large turbines in gas-fired power plants are some of the most effective machines for reliable energy supply. As this technology is set to continue to play a central role in the energy transition, the German Aerospace Center (Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und Raumfahrt; DLR) is working with Siemens Energy to develop the next generation of turbines. There is a dual focus to these efforts, with both parts closely connected to the sustainable reconfiguration of the energy system. Firstly, how can power ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

OIL AND GAS
Maersk orders eight carbon-neutral container ships

Faster and cheaper ethanol-to-jet-fuel on the horizon

Turning hazelnut shells into potential renewable energy source

NASA awards $750,000 in competition to convert carbon dioxide into sugar

OIL AND GAS
Common solar tech can power smart devices indoors, NIST study finds

Perovskite solar cells: Interfacial loss mechanisms revealed

NASA spacewalk briefing to highlight new solar array installation

The dream artificial photosynthesis technology ventures from the laboratory

OIL AND GAS
How do wind turbines respond to winds, ground motion during earthquakes?

For golden eagles, habitat loss is main threat from wind farms

Wind turbines can be clustered while avoiding turbulent wakes of their neighbors

Shell, France's EDF to build US offshore windfarm

OIL AND GAS
Framatome and BBF achieve testing milestone for medical sterilization transport system

Framatome acquires nuclear power systems division of RCM Technologies Canada Corp

Framatome's steam generator replacement expertise supports long-term operations in Canada

China nuclear reactor shut down for maintenance after damage

OIL AND GAS
UN hot on the trail of temperature records

Three in four say climate 'tipping points' close

Global warming begets more warming, new paleoclimate study finds

Gates offers $1.5 bn in climate help if US takes legislative action

OIL AND GAS
The case for onboard carbon dioxide capture on long-range vehicles

Waymo to extend robotaxi service in San Francicso

Designing better batteries for electric vehicles

US opens probe of Tesla Autopilot after 11 crashes: agency

OIL AND GAS
Few Covid masks as millions throng Iraq shrine

Toll of Turkish air strike in Iraq rises to eight

3 dead as Turkey raids north Iraq clinic: security, medics

Iraqi cleric sparks ire of senior pro-Iran figure

OIL AND GAS
Iran says ready to work with China, Russia on Afghanistan 'peace'

Iran stresses nuclear programme peaceful after IAEA report

W88 nuclear warhead reaches milestone

US criticizes Iran nuclear work to up enrichment to 60% during talks









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.