Smart Energy Universe Survey Shows Strong Support But also Concerns about Fracking

RENO, Nev. - May 14, 2013 - PRLog -- The U.S. is experiencing an energy boom created by new drilling technologies that have unlocked vast domestic oil and natural gas reserves.

Proponents of Fracking say it will have profound economic benefits, and may make the US energy independent.

The United States Geological Survey (USGS) just released updated oil and gas resource assessment for the Bakken Formation and a new assessment for the Three Forks Formation in North Dakota, South Dakota and Montana. The assessments found that the formations contain an estimated mean of 7.4 billion barrels (BBO) of undiscovered, technically recoverable oil.

The updated assessment for the Bakken and Three Forks represents a twofold increase over what has previously been thought.

U.S. crude oil output is forecast to rise 815,000 bbl/d this year to 7.25 million barrels per day, according to the February 2013 Energy Outlook by the Energy Information Administration (EIA).  The U.S. daily oil production is expected to rise by another 570,000 bbl/d in 2014 to 7.82 million barrels per day, the highest annual average level since 1988. Most of the U.S. production growth over the next two years will come from drilling in tight rock formations located in North Dakota and Texas.

Shale gas is more abundant as compared to oil.

With the “Dash for Gas”, the UK Parliamentary Energy and Climate change Committee finds that Shale gas production in the UK could enhance energy security and boost tax revenues, but it is too early to say whether it will reduce energy prices.

The nationwide boom in hydraulic fracturing, or Fracking, has unleashed huge new energy reserves but also led to fears of pollution and climate change.

Hydraulic fracturing (popularly referred to as “Fracking”) is not a conventional “drilling process.” Fracking is used after the drilled hole is completed. Fracking uses fluid and material to create or restore small fractures in a formation in order to stimulate production from new and existing oil and gas wells. This creates paths that increase the rate at which fluids can be produced from the reservoir formations. This process is causing concern about the environmental consequences of Fracking and other new drilling technologies.

As with any new technology, the concerns with Fracking include:

• lack of or indiscriminately adopted rules may pose significant health and pollution hazard;
• Fracking may leave large tracts of land uninhabitable for animals and humans;

Several States have adopted “go slow” process. New York is one example where Fracking activity is on hold. California just adopted a moratorium on Fracking.

SEU conducted a series of surveys on Fracking, between October 2012 through March 2013. We also asked readers to comment on their thinking on the issues. The survey sample consisted of 1540 respondents.

SEU readers are educated professionals from around the world, and the SEU readership is a powerful source of current thinking regarding critical smart energy issues.

The survey showed that Fracking has solid support among the respondents, with almost 90% respondents in favor. The same percentage of respondents wanted strict rules to be adopted for Fracking.  Only 15% supported extended moratorium on Fracking activity.

Other survey questions delved into the scope of Fracking rules and guidelines. About 75% of respondents supported uniform Fracking rules across state and provincial boundaries. 20% wanted to leave it to individual territories set their own Fracking rules. A small number (5%) either did not know about Fracking, or had no opinion.

As part of the same survey, we asked how rigid the rules should need to be. The response was evenly distributed:

• 25% wanted very rigid rules that will prevent any kind of disastrous leaks or damages
• 28% wanted sufficient but not overly strict rules
• 30% wanted reasonable rules that will not make Fracking uneconomical and unproductive
• 10% expressed serious concern about extended regulation activity
• Remaining had no opinion or did not feel the rules were necessary (industry will always adopt reasonable rules)

We also received over 164 comments covering a broad spectrum of views.

Please visit www.smartenergyuniverse.com for all the details on the Fracking survey.
SEU plans to conduct a more detailed follow-on survey on Fracking this summer.