Shale’s footprint is considerably smaller and more manageable than tradition oil drilling the blog explains:

“Horizontal drilling enables far wider subsurface activity but from one central location. There are already in the US plenty of lucky landowners who get the check for drilling under their backyard but don’t actually get to see anything in their backyard, or even anywhere in eyesight.”

Another way of reducing shale’s footprint is to develop water recycling systems or to use local water sources as opposed to imported water. Often mixed with chemicals to create what is called “fracking fluid,” water is a key part of shale extraction.

“Integrated water resource management helps you meet your objectives while minimizing the environmental effects,” said Dave Yoxtheimer, a hydrogeologist at Pennsylvania State University in the US. “A gallon saved is a penny earned.”

Of course, the footprint of each shale well is going to be different depending on location and terrain, but large sites can be reduced to smaller sites over time, says No Hot Air.

“We already have some reports of wells covering up to 5 square miles subsurface from five acres above ground. Even the five acres can reduce to a footprint the size of a shipping container three months after the first ground is broken,” the blog writes.

For some concerned citizens, the above ground footprint isn’t the problem, it’s the prospect of an underground footprint that is distressing. A Pennsylvania cemetery recently leased more than 1,000 acres of land to a drilling company who has a five-year option to drill. The company, however, said it would only need five acres to drill if they go forward, so “everyone and their grandmother can rest easy about the physical footprint of shale. Or in this case, everyone and their great-great grandmother.”

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

“Historically gas has been undervalued in the market,” said Tony Meggs, former head of technology for BP and moderator of the MIT conference. “Getting the gas to the consumer was a serious pain in the ass compared to a barrel of oil. Two things are changing gas markets: the climate debate [and] the shale gas boom.”

A shift to cleaner and more renewable energy sources is undoubtedly making shale gas an attractive option said Jeff Fisher, Senior Vice President of Production for Chesapeake Energy, the leading player in the new gas industry.

“Combined with wind and solar energy, [shale gas provides] a long-term viable renewable energy mix,” he said.
Henry Jacoby, a professor at MIT who studies the ongoing interaction between energy and the environment agreed with that statement, and said with cap and trade or regulatory climate policies in place, “gas will displace coal” and grow as a cleaner alternative. Natural gas is the least carbon intensive of all fuels.

However, the environmental impact isn’t the only reason shale gas is “a game changer,” said David Fleishacker, an expert on energy policy. Shale’s abundance is a major factor in highlighting a switch from coal-based energy to gas-based energy.

“Shale gas is widespread, easy to find, and produced at a rate and cost that is economic,” he said.

To date, 32 of 50 states produce natural gas. Some experts estimate there is a 100-year supply on shale gas at current consumption rates.

And the technology to extract the gas – the combination of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling – is driving the market as well.

“Advancements in technology and innovation have unlocked vast supplied of unconventional gas resources,” said Fisher.

While an energy future that is based on minimal to no reliance on fuel at all, the panelists agreed, shale gas is the best option on the table to help the US get to that point.

“The low carbon economy is further away than we think,” said Fleishacker. “Natural gas is here now and will be an essential element in the bridge to the low carbon future.”

Watch the entire conference:

SOURCE:
Go Marcellus Shale: “MIT Energy Conference 2010 – Unconventional Natural Gas”

The key to this “natural gas renaissance,” has been technology.

“These new reserves have been exploited by a large group of relatively unknown players, the independents,” he writes. “They approached these new reserves opportunistically, and leveraging new technologies such as horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, they broke the mold. They approached reservoir development from a completely new perspective.”

Indeed independents may have led the way in the US shale boom, but now most of the major oil players are getting involved on a global scale. Companies such as Shell, Exxon Mobil, Reliance Industries, andChevron – just to name a few – have been acquiring stakes in shale plays around the world over the past year or two.

The movement towards shale gas hasn’t only changed the oil and gas industry, McDermott says, it has also allowed for a more renewable energy future.

“Natural gas is sure to comprise increasing percentages of the power generation mix, displacing dirtier coal, nuclear, and, of course, challenging high-cost renewables,” he says. “It is even conceivable that gas will emerge as a transportation fuel — not overnight, but it may play a large role in fueling fleets in the future.”

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The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality formally submitted the proposal on Wednesday, and the rules will enter a one-month public comment phase on Aug. 13.

The new rules come after the agency was accused of having weak regulations that contributed to air pollution and high levels of cancer-causing toxins were found in Barnett Shale drilling sites in a tiny north Texas town.

The gases in Barnett, and other shales, had long been inaccessible, but a new method of extracting the fluid known as fracking — or hydraulic fracturing — has led to a new boom in the industry. Many of the shales are in populated areas, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is now studying the drilling’s impact on human health and water quality.

The rapid expansion of shale drilling, especially around urban areas, forced the agency to review its regulations, TCEQ chairman Bryan Shaw said in a statement. “This is the latest step in our efforts to ensure safe air quality in areas where oil and gas production is ongoing,” Shaw said.

Read more here

This is a great video that describes how horizontal drilling and fracking work:

Called HiWay, Schlumberger says the new process will significantly enhance output from reservoirs.

So what makes HiWay so special?

To tap shale reserves, companies have to employ a process called hydraulic fracturing (fracking) that creates cracks in the bed rock. Once the cracks are formed, “fracking fluid” is pumped inside (usually a combination of water and sand, ceramic, or other particulates) which further props open the fractures allowing natural gas to flow into the wellbore, and essentially keep the cracks open. In the world of shale extraction, the sand/ceramic particles are called a “proppant pack.”

(Watch THIS VIDEO to learn more about the fracking process).

HiWAY eliminates the link between the flow within the fracture and the proppant pack conductivity. Instead of being controlled and limited by the proppant pack, this new process allows the gas to flow through a network of stable channels within the fracture “created by placement and completions techniques, fluid engineering and process control.” Thus, instead of flowing through sand and ceramic, in the HiWAY process the gas flows through highly conductive channels.

The new fracking technology contains many benefits according to Patrick Schorn, president of Schlumberger Well Services. HiWAY not only “delivers…effective infinite fracture conductivity” but also allows for faster extraction time and yields higher production rates.

Initial tests showed that wells using the HiWAY system produced 53 per cent more gas than those using conventional fracturing techniques.

To date, Schlumberger has successfully used the technique in Argentina, Russia, Mexico and in the United States.

SOURCES:
The Press and Journal: “New Fraccing Technique Shows Great Promise, Says Schlumberger”
Zacks.com: “Schlumberger’s New Technique”
Schlumberger Unveils Hydraulic Fracturing Technology”

Citing the example of Reliance Industries‘ recent three billion dollar investment in a US shale play, Nevin John (the author of the article) says aside from its widespread availability throughout North America, shale’s appeal these days comes from the recent ability to tap the gas.

“Half a decade ago, shale gas finds were not viable,” the article states. “However, technologies such as horizontal drilling and developments such as hydraulic fracturing has made gas extraction from shale rocks more affordable.”

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Over the past year, the Chinese government has been aggressively pursuing alternatives to crude oil, asking for natural gas to account for 10 per cent of the nation’s energy mix by 2020. It currently accounts for around 4 per cent.

In lieu of inviting foreign investors to China to extract the gas, however, Chinese state companies have pushed for a more independent approach wanting to extract, develop and sell the unconventional gas themselves.

These companies in turn have begun investing in companies familiar with hydraulic fracturing technologies and horizontal drilling methods – like Encana – in order to gain the knowledge of how to access this rich resource on Chinese soil.

“China is playing catch up to Asian rivals in the race to buy into North America’s shale gas sector,” an article published on Rigzone.com says, “underlining how the world’s second-largest energy consumer is waking up to the potential of a technology that could unlock a massive resource at home.”

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Helen Knight, clean technology correspondent for the New Scientist, writes that new technology to extract natural gas from unconventional deposits trapped in impermeable hard rock or sandstone, within coal seams, or in shale deposits, means that previously gas-poor countries in the Americas, Asia and western Europe could have enough cheap gas to last for another 100 years at present rates of consumption.

US had until recently, been preparing for a decline in its domestic gas supply by looking to import LNG. Shale gas may now potentially provide 100 years of gas domestic resources.

If the US experience is replicated throughout the world, it could transform the energy outlook. At present, around 60 per cent of US gas is produced from unconventional sources.

“It is the dominant source of gas production in the US, will become that in Canada in the next 10 years, and has the potential to become that in the rest of the world in 20 to 30 years,” says Vello Kuuskraa, president of Advanced Resources International, an energy industry consultancy based in Washington DC.

The article provides a good overview of present natural gas usage, the evolution of shale gas technology and the processes involved in shale gas extraction.

Highly recommended reading for all interested in unconventional gas and shale gas in particular.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

So how exactly do these technologies work?

This video explains: