A Yale University Energy Study Group has done a
cost-benefit analysis
of shale gas extraction and has determined that at current levels, the
extraction of shale gas has generated a consumer surplus of slightly
more then $100 billion for the American economy:
Gas production in 2008 was 25.6 tcf so
that the surplus to consumers by the price reduction from shale gas
equaled $102.9 billion.... [It] is startling to acknowledge that
consumer benefits from the technology of shale gas drilling and new gas
production can be expected to exceed $100 billion per year, year in and
year out as long as present production rates are maintained.
Yet
the whole point of the analysis is to weigh the benefits of the new and
cheaper fuel source against the costs of extraction, especially the
potential environmental accidents that can occur.
To determine how significant the
environmental costs were, the authors used an EPA report to determine
the scale of accidents associated with shale extraction, with a focus on
incidents of groundwater contamination. The number of times this
happened was surprisingly few:
To
undertake such an assessment of costs, we have reviewed current studies
and reports on accidents, misuse of technology and poor well design and
installation. A 2011 report for the Secretary of Energy (“Deutch
Report”) counted 19 instances of problems with frackwater over the
previous few years, amid thousands of wells drilled.
Since the paper claimed there were
only 19 reported instances of problems with frackwater contamination I
had to read the original EPA report to determine where this number came
from. The EPA report itself does not give a number, instead
stating that opponents of fracking tend to lack a lot of solid cases to point to:
Advocates
state that fracturing has been performed safety without significant
incident for over 60 years, although modern shale gas fracturing of two
mile long laterals has only been done for something less than a decade.
Opponents point to failures and accidents and other environmental
impacts, but these incidents are typically unrelated to hydraulic
fracturing per se and sometimes lack supporting data about the
relationship of shale gas development to incidence and consequences.
There are hundreds of thousands of shale gas wells across America, and
while there are many horror stories in the media, it seems there are
surprisingly few documented and confirmed cases of accidents occurring,
especially with contaminated water.
Read more
here.
