Well there you go, cats out of the bag now, beginning to look the goods.
I enjoyed this
What About Shale Gas? There is a Global Gas Glut! We remember the now infamous Economist article from 1999 that predicted low oil prices for the foreseeable future. The media is now telling us on the one hand that we are ?suffocating on gas? but on the other hand saying that shale gas is a hoax and is not economic and that fracture stimulation is the devil! Industry; however, is making huge bets on gas, both conventional with large LNG projects and non-conventional. Exxon acquired XTO for $42b in late 2009 and more recently, BHP acquired a large acreage position in shale gas for $4.6b. Who should we believe? The media or industry? One is always late to the party, the other often early. Fracture Stimulation is Going To?.? Anything that has gotten as much media attention as fracture stimulation and the possible detrimental impacts associated with its use must have some truth to it. How much truth? For deep wells (>3 kilometres), we find it hard to conceptualise how an event that causes fracturing in a 40m radius can impact aquifers that are separated by many layers of impermeable material and are so far away. The arguments against fracture stimulation in shallower intervals may be stronger. Significantly, New York State (a centre for anti fraccing lobbyists), has recently lifted a moratorium on fracture stimulation, determining that ?hydraulic fracturing can be safe?.
