Waterless fracking makes its way to eastern Ohio. The amount of natural gas in Ohio is still to be determined, and “right now we’re still in an exploratory phase,” said Brian Hickman, a spokesperson for the Ohio Oil and Gas Association.

Ohio is rich in shale called, Utica Shale. While companies have successfully used horizontal fracking techniques with Marcellus, Barnett, and other shale, drilling companies are still figuring out the best technique for Utica. In Ohio, about 65 Utica Shale wells have been drilled using traditionally fracking techniques. Each drill required 5 to 6 million gallons of water, according to a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

“I think the results they’re getting [in the Utica] are sub-par, and they’re looking for an alternative,” said Kyle Ward, GasFrac’s spokesperson.

Two Utica wells in Ohio are testing liquid petroleum gas (LPG fracking). The technique was founded in 2006. GasFrac seems to be the world’s only provider of LPG fracking.

LPG fracking is a mixture of sand and pressurized propane gel injected through pipes at high pressures (similar to traditional fracking). The gel releases the oil and gas by fracturing the shale formation and releasing natural gas.

GasFrac, noted that LPG “significantly increases production while minimizing water usage.” GasFrac also believe that LPG fracking can be more environmentally sustainable and economically efficient in the long run — compared to traditional fracking techniques.

“It’s no secret we’re going to the Utica,” Zeke Zeringue, GasFrac’s CEO, said in a May conference call. “Obviously we hope that leads to an establishment of some sort of base of operations.”

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The economic benefit from drilling for shale gas has been estimated to be about $1,000 per U.S. household, according to John W. Larson, IHS Global Insight VP for the public sector.

“This is really, without a doubt, one of the bright spots in an otherwise laborious (economic) recovery,” said Larson during a conference call with Energy from Shale. Shale gas production’s simulative effect, is remarkable, he said, noting “how much more painful this recession could have been without it.”

One of the world’s largest economic analysis and forecasting firms, IHS Global Insight, divided the total impact of shale gas production into 4 different categories, jobs, economic, energy, and tax revenue benefits.

Jobs – In 2010 the shale natural gas industry supported 600,000 jobs. The IHS Global Insight report projects growth to nearly 870,000 jobs in 2015 and to more than 1.6 million by 2035.

Economic – Shale gas’ economic contribution is expanding rapidly, from $76 billion in 2010 to an estimated $118 billion by 2015 and $231 billion in 2035. The report estimates nearly $1.9 billion in shale gas capital investments are expected between 2010 and 2015.

Energy – Production of shale gas, just 2 percent of total U.S. Lower 48 production in 2000, grew to 27 percent last year. As of September shale gas accounted for 34 percent of total production. The report estimates that by 2015 the share will increase to 43 percent, reaching 60 percent by 2035.

Tax revenue – By 2035 shale gas production contributions to federal, state and local governments will total more than $57 billion – more than triple the $18.6 billion contribution in 2010. Cumulatively, the shale industry is projected to generate more than $933 billion in tax and royalty revenues to governments over the next 25 years.

This report shows how amazing the impact energy for shale can have on the economy in respect to job growth and job creation. The national perspective is just as impressive as it is in individual’s states, such as Pennsylvania and North Dakota.

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September we saw drilling opponent protesting outside a Marcellus Shale Coalition conference.  Wednesday, the American Petroleum Institute sponsored a public drilling forum in Albany, NY where drilling advocates believe that environmentalist may have alternative motives to raise cash. Karen Moreau, head the New York State Petroleum Council, said that environmentalists have stirred up the controversy as a fundraising tool.

Environmentalist and other anti-fracking advocates won’t deny that the fracking controversy has attracted more members and has raised more money in recent years. However, Katherine Nadeau, of the Environmental Advocates for New York said that the idea of using fracking as a fundraising method is “preposterous…[Our members] are incredibly concerned about the harmful effects of fracking that have happened all over the country.”

The forum on Wednesday represented more than 400 oil and gas producers. Attending the forum were geologists, engineers, and landowners from the Southern Tier and Central New York, which are areas that fracking could take place. New York State currently has a temporary moratorium on drilling companies.

Moreau argues that the regulations that the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), including bans on fracking in Syracuse and NYC watersheds, are motivated by politics.

“They carved out certain parts of the state, where I think that they thought, for a variety of reasons, it would be certainly politically sensitive,” she says.

Environmentalist would like to see a permanent ban on fracking.

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“Shale is game changer: it’s real, it’s abundant, it’s economic,” – Michale Yeager, the Houston-based chief executive of BHP Billiton Petroleum.

BHP Billiton’s $20 billion bet on shale was based on the abundance shale and was split two-ways -  $15 billion, which was a 65% premium to market value, for Petrohawk Energy and accumulates prime shale fields Louisiana and Texas, while $4.75 billion was spent to acquire gas giant Chesapeake Energy’s acreage in Fayetteville shale.

The investment is reported as “risky,” but Yeager and Chief Marius Kloppers are confident that natural gas from shale is the  future of energy.  Kloppers said shale gas is like coal mining in the sense that its formation is extensive and that you can at lowest cost move through the basin to extract gas.   Kloppers believes that the US will soon connect cars with natural gas.

The recent drop in natural gas prices, $2.30 per mcf, has many worried that the investment is too risky.  Yeager even admit that the price needs to be $3 to $4 per mcf in order to break even.  However, Kloppers said that he’s not worried about losing a few quarters on certain fields.

When Kloppers addressed the controversy over fracking, he said he believed that the controversy will be short-lived.  The industry, he said, is booming with new technology that is taking fracking to new levels of efficiency and safety.

New legislation stating that shale will continue to be apart of the United State’s Clean Energy Act, might have also swayed BHP Billiton’s decision.

Kloppers said, the benefits of plunging into BHP in shale gas is simply investing with economic growth. “As economies grow they consume everything in infrastructure: steel, coking coal, manganese. As they continue to industrialize they need copper and nickel, aluminum,” he says. “As you hit $30,000 GDP per person economies consume more energy. They need more oil and gas.”

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Marcellus Shale Gas Formation
The Marcellus Shale gas formation is one of the largest shale regions in the United States – it’s estimated to be the second largest natural gas find in the world. The Marcellus shale stretches across New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and Maryland at a depth of 5,000 to 8,000 feet. Until recently, this formation has been deemed too expensive to access, however recent advances in hydro-fracturing and horizontal drilling technology have opened up new areas of exploration.

Pennsylvania Natural Gas Development
Since 1859, more than 350,000 oil and natural gas wells have been drilled for Pennsylvania natural gas. In Pennsylvania, jobs from fracking for gas pay on average $62,000, which is around $20,000 higher than the state average. According to a study by Natural Resources Economics, Inc. full development of the Marcellus Shale play in Pennsylvania could support 211,000 jobs. Pennsylvania first began regulating natural gas drilling in 1956. Oil and gas exploration and drilling is regulated under all or part of the state oil and gas laws, the Clean Streams Law, the Dam Safety and Encroachments Act, the Solid Waste Management Act, the Water Resources Planning Act, and the Worker and Community Right to Know Act.

Natural gas producers have invested over $4 billion in Pennsylvania in lease and land acquisition, infrastructure development, community involvement and increase employment opportunities. In developing a community-friendly local industry, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has given the Pennsylvania fracking program high marks.

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An increase in tremors across the U.S. Midwest and parts of the East Coast has given rise to speculation that the instances of seismic activity are actually fracking earthquakes.

However, the movements that can result when companies inject waste water containing hydraulic fracturing chemicals into deep rock are usually much more slight than what residents in Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas and elsewhere have recently experienced.

As The Associated Press reported after the magnitude-5.6 earthquake near Oklahoma City, the force that rocked three mile below the surface was far too strong to be manmade. Stanford University geophysicist Mark Zoback told the AP that usually, the tremors resulting from shale fracking would be “equivalent to a gallon of milk falling off the kitchen counter.”

Since the average amount of water used during the fracking process adds up to about 5 million gallons, there’s not enough pressure or weight to cause a damaging earthquake. Despite some regions of the U.S. having fault activity that is much more predictable, Oklahoma is not so lucky, The Christian Science Monitor reports.

Seth Stein, a geophysicist at Northwestern University, told the news outlet that fault systems tend to fall in and out of activity, with one having several quakes in just a few years, and then that stress moves on to a different fault.

Sources: The Associated Press and The Christian Science Monitor

The debate surrounding the fracking natural gas and fracking oil industries has unfortunately been influenced by some inaccuracies pushed by both sides.

In an article dispelling the myths of shale fracking, Popular Mechanics points to a claim by the Green Party of Pennsylvania, which alleges that hydraulic fracturing wastes water. The magazine acknowledges that the process does use a lot of water – approximately 7 million gallons are needed to fracture one well.

The source cites research from Carnegie Mellon University which found 11 months of drilling 2916 wells in the Marcellus shale consumer an amount similar to what a city would use in the same period.

Additionally, major concerns about economic booms and resulting environmental transformations do not have much merit in some parts of the country.New York Magazine wrote in a September 2008 issue that “the gas era is coming … when the valves start opening next year, a lot of poor farm folk may become Texas rich. And a lot of other people- especially the ecosensitive New York City crowd that has settled among them – will be apoplectic as their pristine weekend sanctuary is converted into an industrial zone.”

Not so, Popular Mechanics says, since the Delaware River’s watershed did not contain enough gas to lure drilling companies.

Another allegation, that the use and disposal of hydraulic fracturing chemicals can lead to groundwater contamination, may not have teeth. The Alcalde reports that University of Texas researchers have determined a clear connection between pollution and drilling does not exist.

“What we’re trying to do is separate fact from fiction,” project leader Charles Groat, a geology professor and the Energy Institute’s associate director, told the source. “Our goal is to inject science into what has become an emotional debate and provide policymakers a foundation to develop sound rules and regulations.”

Sources: Popular Mechanics and The Alcalde