Shale Gas Technology: 30 Years in the Making
While unconventional gas was below the radar until the last several years in the United States, one research institute there has been working on the topic for decades.
According to Trevor Smith, Program Manager in Unconventional Gas Sustainability, the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) had been working on unconventional gas development for the last 30 years, and that included coal bed methane and shale gas studies. He told delegates in attendance at the European Autumn Natural Gas Conference in Paris, France of the Institute’s experience with unconventional gas.
He explained that GTI, which was based in Chicago, had 250 staff, and was the only not for profit in the US focused solely on natural gas.
“Although the technology has been developing for over 30 years, the stakeholders have only known about it for a short time. Society’s reaction so far has been mixed,” he explained. “A harsh spotlight has been based on the industry’s practices.”
“Industry knows the technologies are proven,” he contended. “For those outside the industry, technologies appear new, novel, dangerous, untested.”
Mr. Smith said it was necessary to separate the facts from fiction regarding the technologies – hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling - in Europe.
“This has occurred because of a significant vacuum,” he said of the public’s misconceptions. “There is little information about the science behind the technology. In the absence of good information, some people have formed their own conclusion.
“More difficult to change people’s beliefs after the fact,” he added.
He noted that instead of talking rationally with other groups, those protesting against unconventional gas “climbed up on ladders and shouted their judgments.”
“It’s as much about the science of human behavior as it is about unconventional gas technology,” explained Smith, who touched upon the environmental issues, real and perceived.
He said: “Water is obviously at the core of the environmental debate. Greenhouse gasses are at the forefront of people’s minds when they think about shale gas.”
His presentation showed a typical well site in the US, a farmer’s backyard in Arkansas, on which one could see construction debris, road damage, and the drilling footprint.
Smith commented: “With these images it should be no surprise about the lack of comfort over shale gas production.”
He went on to mention a better solution for Europe: multiple wellheads on a single well pad.
“Wells should be constructed with great integrity,” he said. “Fraccing fluids should not find their way into shallow sources of potable water.”
According to Mr. Smith, sound regulation built public confidence, as did a commitment to sustainable development.
“We must acknowledge that there are environmental impacts and that these impacts can be managed,” he concluded.