A Viable Solution?

Marcellus Shale has become a heated topic in Allegany County. Local residents have expressed concerns of the effects it will have on our environment. Dr. Robert Larviee tried to educate his audience on the positive side of the subject through his presentation "Drilling for Energy in Marcellus Shale."

The Marcellus formation was formed in the Middle Devonian age, spanning from 416 to 359 million years ago. The shale is a low-density, black, rock-like material, with numerous pores that contains 1-10 percent of organic compound. Although the pores contain a small amount of crude oil, it is composed of mostly natural gas. As Dr. Larivee stated, "Natural gas is the cleanest fuel available an has the smallest carbon footprint." He added if we would utilize natural gas technology, "we would be paying half the fuel prices that we are currently with petroleum."

According to the US Energy Information Administration, there are 827 trillion cubic feet of shale in the US, eqivalent to 86 billion barrels of oil. Dr. Larivee says, "That's enough natural gas to supply the United States for 34 years, at the current usage rate."

Approximately two trillion cubic feet of gas was extracted from the Barnett Shale in Texas, generating $35 billion of revenue. This drilling produced two percent of the gas the US uses daily.

Deep drilling techniques are performed in three ways: horizontal drilling, casing, and fracting. Horizontal drilling gains a greater access with a smaller footprint, as the drill is adjusted to go in any direction. For casing, a pipe filled with cement is inserted into a drilled hole to protect the groundwater aquifer from the gas well. Fracting occurs for only a limited time, making the possibility of private well damage unlikely.

Drilling uses about 3.5 million gallons of water. Dr. Larivee says that may "sound like a lot, but it's not that much in the whole picture. This amount is equivalent to the amount of water that New York City uses in only five minutes." Due to the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Environmental Policy Agency no longer monitors our drinking water. This responsibilty is now left to local and state agencies. But according to Dr. Larivee, "80 percent of the contaminated water is removed."

Old equipment along with environmental problems has caused "issues with drilling in the west." But Dr. Larivee adds, "it's very different from what we're doing here." All forms of energy have chances of negative consequences. The best forms of energy would be solar and wind, but it would be "another 20 to 30 years to be in the place technologically to use these effectively." There are advances that shale extraction could take in the future to become healthier for the environment, but will these actions be taken?