Source: THE WEEK
The U.S. has a mammoth deposit of natural gas that could fuel the country for decades. Can it be safely extracted?
How much gas is there?
About as much, in terms of available energy, as Saudi Arabia’s remaining oil reserves — enough to change America’s energy equation for decades. The largest deposit is in the Marcellus Shale, which extends from New York’s Finger Lakes region through Pennsylvania and as far south as Kentucky. An oilfield worker during a "fracking" operation in eastern Colorado: Massive reservoirs of natural gas have been found beneath the ground in America, but some say it may be too costly to extract it. Photo: Gaylon Wampler/CORBIS SEE ALL 29 PHOTOS
The Marcellus Shale, a brittle layer of rock more than a mile underground, is the geological remnant of an ancient sea, and is laced with pockets of trapped gas, which is mostly methane. Penn State geologist Terry Engelder, a lifelong student of the Marcellus Shale, says it could contain as much as 516 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. That would make it the second largest gas field in the world, with 20 times our current annual national consumption of natural gas. With additional large shale-gas deposits now being explored and tapped in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, the Department of Energy late last year more than doubled its estimate of "technically recoverable" domestic reserves of gas to 827 trillion cubic feet.
Who will win the battle?
Why states support fracking
READ MORE
No comments:
Post a Comment
WTFrack.org is a medium for concerned citizens to express their opinions in regards to 'Fracking.' We are Representatives of Democracy. We are Fractivists. We are you.