193
can have many causes, with the presence of gas wells as just one possibility (Brantley
et al. 2018). Another water sample contained some hydrocarbons, but age dates of
the water indicated that it was far too old to have come from Marcellus Shale fracking activity. These findings are consistent with other studies that have found localized incidents of surface water or groundwater contamination from fracking
chemicals (Llewellyn et al. 2015), but no systemic, widespread contamination of
groundwater from hydraulic fracturing (USEPA 2016).
The Marcellus Shale has become the single largest gas-producing formation in
the United States, largely in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The increase in tax
revenue from all this gas has been significant in Pennsylvania, and royalties paid to
landowners have greatly improved the balance sheets of many formerly marginal
farms, especially in the northern tier counties. West Virginia has a different tax
structure with mineral rights separated or “severed” from land ownership, so the
state has gained revenue but landowners have benefitted far less.
A number of other states that have allowed development of their tight oil and
shale gas resources have also seen substantial increases in tax revenue, including
Ohio, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota. The effects in North
Dakota from Bakken Shale revenue are obvious when driving into the state from
surrounding regions – the roads improve significantly on the North Dakota side of
the state line.
It is also important to note that not all calls for a ban on fracking are coming from
concerned environmentalists. The coal industry is of course a major supporter of a
fracking ban and would benefit greatly from the resulting natural gas shortages.
Another player with an interest in natural gas is Russia. RT America is a cable television channel in the United States that is supported financially by the Russian
government to the tune of $190 million per year. Formerly known as “Russia Today,”
RT America obscures its ties to the Kremlin and positions itself as a domestic
U.S. channel. It frequently highlights the supposed environmental dangers and public health risks from fracking. The anti-fracking message appears to be a political
response to the huge increases in domestic U.S. natural gas and petroleum production from shale over the past decade that have challenged the profitability of
Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company, and Rosneft, the state oil company
(Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2017, p. 8). In addition to lowering
gas prices world-wide, U.S. shale gas exports to Western Europe in the form of
LNG have directly undercut Gazprom’s prime market.
Russian officials from Vladimir Putin on down have decried the “barbaric” technology involved in fracking. The intense environmental concerns about fracking in
France and Germany were stirred up on social media and by Green Party commentators, yet backed by little definitive science. The resulting bans on fracking in these
countries have been suspiciously beneficial for Russian natural gas exports to
Western Europe. Interestingly, the Kremlin’s professed concern over the “barbaric
technology” of fracking does not apply to domestic production. In 2014 Gazprom
partnered with Royal Dutch Shell to drill and hydraulically fracture five horizontal
test wells in the Bazhenov Shale in the West Siberian basin, potentially the largest
shale gas and tight oil resource in the world (Ulmishek 2003). Its successful
10.1 Should Fracking Be Banned?
can have many causes, with the presence of gas wells as just one possibility (Brantley
et al. 2018). Another water sample contained some hydrocarbons, but age dates of
the water indicated that it was far too old to have come from Marcellus Shale fracking activity. These findings are consistent with other studies that have found localized incidents of surface water or groundwater contamination from fracking
chemicals (Llewellyn et al. 2015), but no systemic, widespread contamination of
groundwater from hydraulic fracturing (USEPA 2016).
The Marcellus Shale has become the single largest gas-producing formation in
the United States, largely in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The increase in tax
revenue from all this gas has been significant in Pennsylvania, and royalties paid to
landowners have greatly improved the balance sheets of many formerly marginal
farms, especially in the northern tier counties. West Virginia has a different tax
structure with mineral rights separated or “severed” from land ownership, so the
state has gained revenue but landowners have benefitted far less.
A number of other states that have allowed development of their tight oil and
shale gas resources have also seen substantial increases in tax revenue, including
Ohio, Arkansas, Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and North Dakota. The effects in North
Dakota from Bakken Shale revenue are obvious when driving into the state from
surrounding regions – the roads improve significantly on the North Dakota side of
the state line.
It is also important to note that not all calls for a ban on fracking are coming from
concerned environmentalists. The coal industry is of course a major supporter of a
fracking ban and would benefit greatly from the resulting natural gas shortages.
Another player with an interest in natural gas is Russia. RT America is a cable television channel in the United States that is supported financially by the Russian
government to the tune of $190 million per year. Formerly known as “Russia Today,”
RT America obscures its ties to the Kremlin and positions itself as a domestic
U.S. channel. It frequently highlights the supposed environmental dangers and public health risks from fracking. The anti-fracking message appears to be a political
response to the huge increases in domestic U.S. natural gas and petroleum production from shale over the past decade that have challenged the profitability of
Gazprom, the Russian state-owned gas company, and Rosneft, the state oil company
(Office of the Director of National Intelligence 2017, p. 8). In addition to lowering
gas prices world-wide, U.S. shale gas exports to Western Europe in the form of
LNG have directly undercut Gazprom’s prime market.
Russian officials from Vladimir Putin on down have decried the “barbaric” technology involved in fracking. The intense environmental concerns about fracking in
France and Germany were stirred up on social media and by Green Party commentators, yet backed by little definitive science. The resulting bans on fracking in these
countries have been suspiciously beneficial for Russian natural gas exports to
Western Europe. Interestingly, the Kremlin’s professed concern over the “barbaric
technology” of fracking does not apply to domestic production. In 2014 Gazprom
partnered with Royal Dutch Shell to drill and hydraulically fracture five horizontal
test wells in the Bazhenov Shale in the West Siberian basin, potentially the largest
shale gas and tight oil resource in the world (Ulmishek 2003). Its successful
10.1 Should Fracking Be Banned?