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This presentation was made during an event on October 25, 2012 in Kartuzy, where Food & Water Europe was invited by a local group. We informed local residents about the risks, negative impacts and the exaggerated benefits of shale gas for Poland.
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11/5/12
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The American experience of living with large-‐scale shale gas development.
Is Poland ready for this?
Geert De Cock, Policy officer
EVENT Title
Kartuzy, October 25, 2012 1
Food & Water Europe
• European programme of Food & Water Watch – Based in Washington, DC
• Working on food, water … and shale gas • 12.000 individual US ciKzens as members – Financial support from a dozen American foundaKons
• No corporate, no government donaKons
INDEPENDENCE & TRANSPARENCY
hTp://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/about/annual-‐report/ 2
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Shale gas
• Reduce dependence on Russian gas • Help move Poland away from coal
• Can natural gas – and domesKc shale gas – help Poland to achieve these goals?
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Overview
• What is fracking for shale gas? • How is unconvenKonal gas different • Environmental impacts • Health impacts • Economic and employment aspects • Conclusion
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Fracking for shale gas
• 2 technologies made extracKng gas from shale rocks technologically possible: – Hydraulic fracturing – Horizontal drilling (up to 2 km)
• Water pumped in at high pressure – Mixed with sand & chemicals
• Proppant (silica sand) keeps cracks open • Water and gas return to surface
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Source: Propublica 6
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Source: Prof. Rien Herber, former vice president of ExploraNon Europe at Shell. 7
Source: WorldOil.com 8
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Source: Florency Geny, Oxford IES -‐ currently business analyst Statoil 9
Shale gas = spaKally intense
• IEA: “Be ready to think big” – “larger number of wells required” – For example: • BarneT shale: 15.000 wells • Marcellus shale: up to 100.000 wells
• 1000s of wells required in the next decade – IF recoverable reserve esKmates are correct
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Source: Pennsylvania Department of ConservaKon of Natural Resources 11
Source: EIA video – CumulaKve drilling in Pennsylvania 12
hTp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPfGoNvsqt0
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Source: Pennsylvania Department of ConservaKon of Natural Resources 13
Source: InternaKonal Energy Agency 14
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Shale gas in Poland?
• Twin challenges – Reducing imports of Russian gas – Fuel switch from coal to gas
• 1000s of wells required in the next decade – IF recoverable reserve esKmates are correct
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For example • To replace 10% of Poland’s total coal-‐fired capacity (141,6 TW) – Need for 635 wells per year
• To cover Poland’s current consumpKon of natural gas (2012: 17,16 billion cubic meters) – Need for 270 wells per year – If gas consumpKon goes up by another 30%, then need for 351
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Moving to environmental impacts
CumulaNve impacts
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Water quanKty
• Water usage by Polish shale gas industry only amounts to 0,06% of annual usage in Poland (based on 200 wells)
• BUT: all water is sourced locally. – In Texas’ counKes, fracking industry’s water consumpKon equal to households
• CompeKKon between water users • Produced water used cannot be used for other purposes.
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Water quality
• Between 25 to 75% of injected water returns to surface (flowback) à huge wastestream – One well-‐pad of 8 wells: 100.000 liters of waste
• Ill-‐equipped water treatment plants in US to deal with: – NORM – Naturally Occurring RadioacKve Materials – Heavy metals – High levels of bromides: reacts with chlorine to form carcinogenic trihalomethanes
– Fracking chemicals, including BTEX compounds 19
Water quality
• Lots of fracking waste water in US is disposed in deep well injecKon sites. – BUT prohibited in the EU (Water Framework DirecKve)
• Problems with well integrity can lead to methane contaminaKon of water wells – Flaming tap phenomenon – Industry denies: lack of baseline data
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Fracking chemicals
• Only 1 to 2% of millions of liters, BUT: – Despite relaKve low concentraKons, absolute volumes are huge à thousands of kilos
– Some chemicals are dangerous “even at concentraKons near or below their chemical detecKon limits” (Bishop,2011)
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Fracking chemicals
• Examples: – 2-‐Butoxyethanol -‐ high doses reproducKve problems, birth defects, red blood cells, high mobility, low degradaKon, contaminate aquifers
– Ethylene Glycol -‐ irritate eyes, nose & throat, respiratory toxicant, increased risks of spontaneous aborKon, animal teratogen
– Methanol – affects nervous system – Aroma6c hydrocarbons like benzene -‐ carcinogenic – Glutaraldehyde – respiratory toxin, mutagenic
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Air quality
• Wyoming does not meet Clean Air Act Standards in areas with gas drilling: – Air pollutants linked to drilling mix with other emissions
– This can lead to high ozone levels and smog.
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Source: Food & Water Watch 24
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Health impacts
• Peer reviewed arKcle concludes: – Residents living ≤ [800 m] from wells are at greater risk for health effects from [unconvenKonal natural gas development] than are residents living >[800 m] from wells.
• Recent report Earthworks’ Oil & Gas Accountability Project – “contaminants that are associated with oil and gas development are present in air and water in areas where residents are experiencing health symptoms consistent with such exposures”
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Employment
• PotenKal job numbers are typically exaggerated – “1150 full Kme equivalent local jobs per 100 wells will go to drilling crews coming from outside the region” (Rumbach, 2012)
– E.g. PKN Orlen Gas 510.000 jobs • Risky industry: – Work with toxic chemicals – Crystalline Silica Exposures à Silicosis or Stonemason’s disease
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Employment Source: PoliKcal Economy Research InsKtute of the University of MassachuseTs
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Economic impacts
• Lower gas prices – Unlikely, as extracKon will be much more expensive than in the US.
• Boom and bust cycle – Boom in the US has lasted about 5-‐7 years, but now bust. • Too much drilling and weak demand led to a collapse in gas prices.
– Shale gas is a ‘nomadic’ industry
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Impact on real estate
• Fracking has negaKve impact on real estate values – Catskills region in New York: drop in prices for holiday homes
• NaKonWide insurance does not cover fracking-‐related damage to homes: – “the exposures presented by hydraulic fracturing are too great to ignore”
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Tourism • “[…] many tourism related businesses are locally owned and operated, and are thus part of a long-‐term economic development trajectory for the region, the employment ‘boom’ in gas drilling will be relaKvely short-‐term and non-‐local” (Rumbach, 2012)
• “wide-‐spread drilling could do substanKal damage to the region’s ‘brand’, threatening the long-‐term growth of tourism here” (Rumbach, 2012)
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Land use: IndustrialisaNon of rural areas
• About 3.6 hectares for mulK-‐well pad installaKon (AEA report, 2012)
• Pipeline infrastructure: 2.5 km / well pad (Nature conservancy, 2011)
• Plus other gas infrastructure: – Compressor staKons, gas storage, water extracKon sites
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Source: Rumbach (2012) 32
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Source: Food & Water Watch 33
Source: Nature Conservancy (2011) 34
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Source: Nature Conservancy 35
Source: Rumbach (2012) 36
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Farming
• Natural gas development uses a lot of land. • Water and soil contaminaKon by spills (Bamberger and Oswald) – “complete tesKng of air and water prior to drilling and at regular intervals aver drilling has commenced”
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Traffic
• “each well would would require between 890 and 1350 heavy-‐duty truck loads per well” (Food & Water Europe, March 2012)
• “an 8-‐well pad may require some 4-‐6 thousand truck trips over some six months pre-‐extracKon” (EP report – Boguslaw Sonik)
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Source: Rumbach, 2012 40
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Conclusion • Importance of environmental impact assessment, prior to drilling
• ATenKon to the cumulaKve impacts of large-‐scale shale gas development
• Healthy dose of suspicion about the local economic benefits – NegaKve economic impacts – Long-‐term environmental damage – Renewable energy and energy efficiency?
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Thank you!
• Email: [email protected] & [email protected]
• Tel: 0032 /(0)2/893.10.18
hTp://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/europe/fracking/
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