6.5 Shale Gas

Question 1

What is Shale Gas

Answer 1

Natural gas trapped in fine-grained sedimentary rock

Question 2

Why is Shale Gas Fracked

Answer 2

Cannot be extracted by normal drilling as natural gas (mostly methane) is trapped inside impermeable shale rock

Question 3

How does Fracking Work

Answer 3

Shale rocks broken to free gas, by hydraulic fracturing

Involves forcing fracking fluid (98% water/sand + 2% chemicals) into shale rock so rock splits apart.

Any gas flows into prepared well where its concentrated enough to recover

Question 4

Where in the World is Shale Gas Being Exploited Most

Answer 4

USA

2015, natural gas overtook coal as main electricity generator

Question 5

Shale Gas Benefits

Answer 5

Of course energy security (reducing imports) and jobs

Carbon footprint about half of coal and lower than liquefied natural gas (LNG) which is transported around the world

Question 6

Shale Gas Costs

Answer 6

Of course still a fossil fuel and expensive

Methane leaks. Said to be 20-80x more potent than CO2. and CO2 is end product of CH4 when react with O2

2% chemicals are unregulated, do not have to be disclosed by companies. In material safety data sheets (MSDSs) filed by NY state, carcinogens and mutagenic were found among other toxins