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Author	Topic: New Fracking Reports: Gas Bubble About To Bust	Post a Reply Back to Topics

Eugenian Champion Author Oregon Posts:1,842 Points:358,130 Joined:Oct 2009	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:09:06 PM Ignore Eugenian Report Abuse Two new fracking reports came out earlier this week, and they reveal some serious new cracks in the booming natural gas industry. Fracking, the drilling method that involves pumping a chemical brine underground, has already been linked to the risk of water contamination, significant methane gas leakage, and even earthquakes. The two reports add another angle of risk, making the case that the gas boom hides a financial bubble that is headed for a bust of epic proportions. Visit CleanTechnica for full article

Eugenian

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Oregon

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Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:09:06 PM

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Two new fracking reports came out earlier this week, and they reveal some serious new cracks in the booming natural gas industry. Fracking, the drilling method that involves pumping a chemical brine underground, has already been linked to the risk of water contamination, significant methane gas leakage, and even earthquakes. The two reports add another angle of risk, making the case that the gas boom hides a financial bubble that is headed for a bust of epic proportions.
Visit CleanTechnica for full article

REPLIES (newest first)Ignore Short Messages

drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:8,929 Points:749,935 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 22, 2013 12:38:42 AM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse Fantastically well stated A_NY_Outlaw.
Vette1967 Champion Author Albany Posts:5,952 Points:1,273,075 Joined:Jun 2009	Message Posted: Feb 22, 2013 12:30:21 AM Ignore Vette1967 Report Abuse Not unlike telling your child not to touch a hot stove to prove an obvious point.
LilRedWagonIN Champion Author Indiana Posts:7,761 Points:1,551,460 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 22, 2013 12:24:32 AM Ignore LilRedWagonIN Report Abuse Flatulence.
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:22,065 Points:1,381,910 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 4:55:19 PM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse Good post orphancarguyPE. But let US not forget about the toxic chemical "secret" swill that will eventual migrate. Both through fractures in the Earth and the crumbling, abandoned well structures. The Industry accepts no responsibility for the health hazards they have set in motion.
endymion All-Star Author New York Posts:813 Points:168,680 Joined:Nov 2012	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 4:30:02 PM Ignore endymion Report Abuse So financial engineering by the gas companies was behind the mergers and acquisitions in the industry...and fracking was the missing piece needed to justify the revenue projections. Nothing new under the sun. Hope the people who don't care about our drinking water were the ones who bought these tulip bulbs.
A_NY_Outlaw Champion Author Albany Posts:1,359 Points:701,930 Joined:Mar 2011	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 2:00:54 PM Ignore A_NY_Outlaw Report Abuse That's a very good post orphancarguyPE. And one that people with any sense of common sense wouldn't be able to dispute. But that's where it all ends- the people who elected Obama and the Misfits into a second term don't possess common sense. Conservaties never have said that the boon would last forever, but to dismiss our reliance on gas and oil altogether in favor of wind and solar is ludicrous. With the left, it's all about having more, working less and giving every imaginable rights to Illegal Immigrants. That, coupled with punishing those who achieve success. That's what they live for. So you see, you can put facts in front of the lefties and greenies all day long and it won't matter.
PDQBlues Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,054 Points:1,444,325 Joined:Jan 2009	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 10:50:51 AM Ignore PDQBlues Report Abuse It does seem so much of the economy is built upon "bubbles". Be it the dot-com bubble, the housing bubble and now the fracking bubble. Those who got in early will cash out from the fools who get in late.
orphancarguyPE Champion Author PEI Posts:3,827 Points:730,990 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 9:58:20 AM Ignore orphancarguyPE Report Abuse Well, if you want to believe in something, you likely will believe. The anti-fracking people have ruined their case often by going overboard about things that turn out not to matter in the real world. Earthquakes? A misnomer, very minor variance by adding water to certain rock layers leading to minor minor slips. You need a sensitive seismograph to detect the difference. Damage=nil. Pollution of aquifers? Not unless you do something damn stupid...but only people with a basic understanding of geology as it pertains to water, rock, sand, and petro-carbon layers going a few miles straight down will get it--that it is a basically silly concern unless you go out of your way to do something crazy and stupid. All these layers are quite a distance from each other. The fracking fluid is another blind alley. The real problem is not the fluid, its the use of water in dry areas. Now, overlooked are some really valid concerns amongst all the rhetoric--slow and certain leaking of methane far outside the actual well bore catchment area, via tiny fractures and perculations over time to the surface. But the biggest drawback is that it is going to be very expensive in time, labour and capital. Instead of producing for decades as in conventional well resources, fracking starts off big and immediately starts to decline in output--your biggest output is the day the production starts. The average declines are running aboutv 38% per year, with some plays in the 80% per year range. So, after a year or two, the well is done effectively and you have to drill again, so the cost of a $10 million well is stranded, and another $10 million is spent, which will also be stranded in 1.5-2.5 years. Its not like drill and sit back drinking mint juleps on the front porch for a few decades as in conventional oil and gas, its drill one day, and start over again tomorrow--forever--to maintain the flow, not even make it grow--just to maintain it at a plateau of production. Lots of oil and gas out there to be had by fracking. It just won't be the low-cost bonanza good for a 100 years or more that some people are still thinking. [Edited by: orphancarguyPE at 2/21/2013 10:01:54 AM EST]
Radar1992 Champion Author Florida Posts:1,305 Points:306,165 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 6:41:21 AM Ignore Radar1992 Report Abuse This is from Cleantechnica....obviously a far and balanced organization....(sarcasm intended)....
lippoe_sokan All-Star Author Provo Posts:602 Points:179,150 Joined:Nov 2012	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 1:58:25 AM Ignore lippoe_sokan Report Abuse Hard to see this coming, wasn't it? (no!)
goldrose1 Champion Author Cleveland Posts:10,926 Points:1,921,805 Joined:Feb 2005	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 1:46:05 AM Ignore goldrose1 Report Abuse This can't be good.
NOTSOGRN Champion Author Michigan Posts:2,055 Points:1,508,570 Joined:Dec 2007	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 1:44:47 AM Ignore NOTSOGRN Report Abuse . . Aaaw shucks...I might have believed it weren't for: "The following are just some of the indications that we are a top site to follow or reference for cleantech news, facts, or commentary: We were featured on CNBC for one of the videos in CNBC and Harvard Business Review’s “Energy Opportunities” series. (Site director/editor Zachary Shahan was interviewed in CNBC’s London studios for this video.) We won TreeHugger‘s 2011 Best of Green Reader’s Choice Award for Best Sci-Tech blog. We consistently rank near or at the top of Technorati’s “Top Green Blogs” ranking." . Rolling Stone as a source... [Edited by: NOTSOGRN at 2/21/2013 1:52:48 AM EST]
jimgraham Champion Author Akron Posts:10,353 Points:1,976,655 Joined:Oct 2007	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 1:27:07 AM Ignore jimgraham Report Abuse Can we be so lucky that all the speculators and "investment bankers" will lose their shirts when it happens??
dodsworth All-Star Author Salem Posts:757 Points:291,930 Joined:Jul 2012	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 1:23:12 AM Ignore dodsworth Report Abuse Interesting, but the environmental risks were enough for me.
iFueler Champion Author Durham Posts:64,308 Points:174,750 Joined:Nov 2012	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 1:03:47 AM Ignore iFueler Report Abuse this will play out over time - pun intended
kkimes Champion Author Illinois Posts:1,590 Points:1,502,915 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 12:53:58 AM Ignore kkimes Report Abuse I hate to say 'I told you so', but ....
drpepperTX Champion Author Texas Posts:8,929 Points:749,935 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 12:26:27 AM Ignore drpepperTX Report Abuse CleanTechnia, LOL!
WanderDan All-Star Author Dayton Posts:585 Points:141,210 Joined:Nov 2012	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 12:26:16 AM Ignore WanderDan Report Abuse the buffoons will just call it all a lie!
cheapchickKY Champion Author Lexington Posts:4,002 Points:793,365 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 12:19:07 AM Ignore cheapchickKY Report Abuse Not a fan of fracking.
Amplion Champion Author Oregon Posts:6,748 Points:1,861,325 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 12:08:16 AM Ignore Amplion Report Abuse We just had another N.G. disaster !!!! N.G. IS JUST PLAIN UNSAFE !!!
mia3bxs Veteran Author Miami Posts:447 Points:308,715 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 21, 2013 12:06:53 AM Ignore mia3bxs Report Abuse This is really going to get interesting.
andy1024 Champion Author Allentown Posts:1,682 Points:444,250 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 11:37:03 PM Ignore andy1024 Report Abuse Opinions on Fracking are quite polarized.
Joeski1 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:9,972 Points:1,737,835 Joined:Dec 2004	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:56:16 PM Ignore Joeski1 Report Abuse Kaaa boom! break open the wallets and pocketbooks....
MidNJ Champion Author New Jersey Posts:7,536 Points:1,169,685 Joined:Sep 2009	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:45:35 PM Ignore MidNJ Report Abuse Yep, bubbles do bust.
Carol7777 All-Star Author Houston Posts:707 Points:144,210 Joined:Dec 2012	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:43:37 PM Ignore Carol7777 Report Abuse If fracking is really as bad as all this, can they change the chemicals used or alter the methods to reduce or eliminate these problems? Or will this drilling method just implode on itself?
mikaye Champion Author Cleveland Posts:3,814 Points:861,410 Joined:Jun 2010	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:38:50 PM Ignore mikaye Report Abuse not suprising
drobbbb Champion Author Maryland Posts:3,460 Points:808,460 Joined:Dec 2010	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:29:59 PM Ignore drobbbb Report Abuse this ought to be interesting
bojiway1 Champion Author Minnesota Posts:2,029 Points:475,035 Joined:Dec 2011	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:15:25 PM Ignore bojiway1 Report Abuse Who paid for the study
JeffersonState All-Star Author Oregon Posts:631 Points:151,840 Joined:Dec 2012	Message Posted: Feb 20, 2013 10:10:55 PM Ignore JeffersonState Report Abuse It had to happen with the rush to pump without good scientific study of the consequences.