Utica Shale

rgambs

Has anyone heard anything about the Utica Shale natural gas extraction happening in Ohio? North Dakota is making the news plenty for it's oil, but I can't tell if the Utica NG play has been discussed much yet outside of my area.

Who Princess

Where are you located?

JWPearl

Im a western push over, heard fella sheep talking but cant remember where...

newc

What is it about shale gas !!!
I'm in western Australia where one of the biggest deposits of natural gas on the planet occurs. And still they look at shale!!
We also happen to have plenty of sun wind and wave....if only they would invest in this.
Beware the chemicals they pump into the ground my friend beware....

mickeyrat

some has been said in the news. Gov(R) wanted to raise the tax on them, state house and senate(both R) shut him down , some wanted to have that help pay for the fuckups that are sure to happen. Coal is crying because jobs are slowing(which is kinda bullshit due to China and India increasing their use of coal) See alot of out of state plates namely Texas (of course) and from the surrounding states to Texas.

Guy in Youngstown was fined heavily and shut down his hauling business for dumping frac waste water in a drain on his property. Tried to claim he didnt know it was illegal. Getting prosecuted and billed for the cost of cleanup as it drained to a nearby creek.

Chesapeake Energy and Halliburton are major players. See alot of equipment being hauled in.
The fervor has died down quite a bit, now its a wait and see how many others make costly environmental mistakes.

rgambs

I am in Carrol county Ohio which is the epicenter of this particular shale gas boom.

newc: i don't know why they would be going for shale gas and tar sands when there are still oil and NG available, there must be a taxation issue or something deeper than i know of. Chesapeake in particular has extended itself to the point of concern (theirs not mine lol) with the leases and with underperforming wells producing very dirty gas and gas liquids which need much TLC. In ND they are burning off the dirty NG (perhaps as dirty as ours im not sure) because it costs too much to harvest compared to oil.

mickeyrat: your level of knowledge and signature suggest you are an Ohioan. I commiserate with you on that account. Your observations are all correct, it is very strange to see Haliburton trucks in town, it's like, what is this, Iraq? lol

Halifax2TheMax

Mark my words, 5, 10, 15 years from now all the states and localities that allowed fracking are going to rue the day. And if NG is so plentiful as a by product, why is National Grid petitioning my state utility commission for a 16% NG rate hike?

Greedy and short sighted the whole thing is. Go ask the CEO of Exxon/Mobile how he feels about fracking in his backyard.

Peace.

rgambs

that is a great story there! It reads like a poorly executed satire but it's for real!! (the exxon ceo suit)

mickeyrat

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/07/halliburton-ohio-river-spill-fracking

On the morning of June 28, a fire broke out at a Halliburton fracking site in Monroe County, Ohio. As flames engulfed the area, trucks began exploding and thousands of gallons of toxic chemicals spilled into a tributary of the Ohio River, which supplies drinking water for millions of residents. More than 70,000 fish died. Nevertheless, it took five days for the Environmental Protection Agency and its Ohio counterpart to get a full list of the chemicals polluting the waterway. "We knew there was something toxic in the water," says an environmental official who was on the scene. "But we had no way of assessing whether it was a threat to human health or how best to protect the public."

This episode highlights a glaring gap in fracking safety standards. In Ohio, as in most other states, fracking companies are allowed to withhold some information about the chemical stew they pump into the ground to break up rocks and release trapped natural gas. The oil and gas industry and its allies at the American Legislative exchange Council (ALEC), a pro-business outfit that has played a major role in shaping fracking regulation, argue that the formulas are trade secrets that merit protection. But environmental groups say the lack of transparency makes it difficult to track fracking-related drinking water contamination and can hobble the government response to emergencies, such as the Halliburton spill in Ohio.

According to a preliminary EPA inquiry, more than 25,000 gallons of chemicals, diesel fuel, and other compounds were released during the accident, which began with a ruptured hydraulic line spraying flammable liquid on hot equipment. The flames later engulfed 20 trucks, triggering some 30 explosions that rained shrapnel over the site and hampered firefighting efforts.

Officials from the EPA, the Ohio EPA, and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) arrived on the scene shortly after the fire erupted. Working with an outside firm hired by Statoil, the site's owner, they immediately began testing water for contaminates. They found a number of toxic chemicals, including ethylene glycol, which can damage kidneys, and phthalates, which are linked to a raft of grave health problems. Soon dead fish began surfacing downstream from the spill. Nathan Johnson, a staff attorney for the non-profit Ohio Environmental Council, describes the scene as "a miles-long trail of death and destruction" with tens of thousands of fish floating belly up.

Statoil and the federal and state officials set up a "unified command" center and began scouring a list of chemicals Halliburton had provided them for a compound that might be triggering the die off. But the company had not disclosed those ingredients that it considered trade secrets.
"We knew there was something toxic in the water. But we had no way of assessing whether it was a threat to human health or how best to protect the public."

Halliburton was under no obligation to reveal the full roster of chemicals. Under a 2012 Ohio law—which includes key provisions from ALEC's model bill on fracking fluid disclosure—gas drillers are legally required to reveal some of the chemicals they use, but only 60 days after a fracking job is finished. And they don't have to disclose proprietary ingredients, except in emergencies.

Even in these cases, only emergency responders and the chief of the ODNR's oil and gas division, which is known to be cozy with industry, are entitled to the information. And they are barred from sharing it, even with environmental agencies and public health officials. Environmental groups argue this makes it impossible to adequately test for contamination or take other necessary steps to protect public health. "Ohio is playing a dangerous game of hide and seek with first responders and community safety," says Teresa Mills of the Virginia-based Center for Health, Environment, and Justice.

Within two days of the spill, Halliburton disclosed the proprietary chemicals to firefighters and the oil and gas division chief, but it didn't give this information to the EPA and its Ohio counterpart until five days after the accident, by which time the chemicals had likely reached or flowed past towns that draw drinking water from the Ohio River. The company says that it turned over the information as soon as it was requested. "We don't know why USEPA and Ohio EPA didn’t have the information prior to July 3," Halliburton spokeswoman Susie McMichael tells Mother Jones. "If they had asked us earlier, we would have provided the information, consistent with our standard practice." The Ohio EPA, on the other hand, maintains that ODNR, emergency workers, and federal and state EPA officials had a representative ask Statoil and Halliburton for a complete list of chemicals just after the spill. Several days later, environmental regulators pressed for the information again and learned that it had already been shared with only ODNR, which according to the EPA report was not deeply involved in the emergency response.

Other key players, including local water authorities, the private company hired to monitor water contamination, and area residents, did not get a full rundown of chemicals, even after the EPA and the Ohio EPA finally received the information.

Ohio state officials maintain that the river water is safe to drink because the fracking chemicals have been so heavily diluted. But environmentalists are skeptical. "Tons of chemicals and brine entered the waterway and killed off thousands fish," says Johnson of the Ohio Environmental Council. "There's no way the drinking water utility or anyone else could monitor those chemical and determine whether the levels were safe without knowing what they were. Even today, I don't think the public can be sure that the water is safe to drink."

mickeyrat

http://www.nbc4i.com/story/26085529/federal-report-details-chemicals-used-at-drilling-site

Posted: Jul 22, 2014 6:06 PM EST Updated: Jul 22, 2014 6:06 PM EST
By: Rick Reitzel - email




MONROE COUNTY, Ohio - For the first time, we are learning some of the chemicals used to frack an oil and natural gas well that was involved in a huge fire June 28 in Monroe County.

But we're learning about the chemicals the hard way, after those products and trucks staged to hydraulically fracture oil and natural wells went up in a giant inferno.

An investigation in the explosion and fire is still ongoing, but NBC4's Rick Reitzel was able to get some of those details from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Pollution/Situation Report.

The fire was so large it could be seen across the Ohio River in West Virginia. The smoke from it was so thick the Monroe County EMA Director, Phil Keevert said firefighters had to be pulled back three times and it took more than 24 hours to extinguish.

First responders poured in from around Monroe and Belmont counties and from West Virginia to attack the fire. In all Keevert said 12 fire departments and other state, federal and private agency assisted. The report states more than 300,000 gallons of water were poured onto the burning well pad.

Sixteen different chemicals were staged in trucks ready to frack wells on the site, along with those chemicals we have learned were three radiological sources, called Cesium-137, shaped charges, primer cord and detonators.

NBC4: "Do you feel satisfied that you knew enough about what was going on there to keep fire fighters safe?

"There were some questionable moments not have a full list of the chemicals," said Phil Keevert, Monroe County EMA Director.

He said a Halliburton representative told him about the chemicals at the fire scene. As to the radiological sources, “we were told about the three boxes on site," Keevert said. But none of the 12 fire departments knew what chemicals, radiological and explosives they were encountering before they arrived at the emergency.

"Where has the state been on all of this," said Dr. Juilie Weatherington-Rice. She is a geologist, soil scientist and Adjunct Professor at The Ohio State University.

She said fire departments should have a list of chemicals and an emergency plan for each site before an emergency.

"Why don't people know ahead of time, because we can't make the assumption this will never happen, because guess what it did," she said.

Weatherington-Rice said she hopes first responders on the scene were wearing breathing masks. Because some of the chemicals consumed in the fire were toxic and could make you sick, others more hazardous could kill you. The affects she said, might not be realized immediately. The report states 70,000 fish were killed in Opossum Creek which leads into the Ohio River. There is no evidence of whether fish were killed in the river. Contrary to what the well owner StatOil said after the fire, the US EPA report shows flowback water also poured out of one of the seven well on the site, in the creek.

Weatherington-Rice said she is concerned about the state being our watchdog.

"It does not appear to be as concerned about protecting the people of ohio as it appears to be concerned about promoting oil and gas drilling," she said.

ODNR Spokesman Mark Bruce said the investigation into the fire is still ongoing and they cannot comment about it. But said state and federal laws ensure first responders and investigators were aware of the hazards onsite.

brianlux

I say, "Fack Frucking"... or something like that.

I hope our Gov. out here in CA changes his mind about being pro-fracking or finds another job. (And for the most part, I like the guy.)