Two small earthquakes near Blackpool in northwest England earlier this year were probably caused by hydraulic fracturing, a technique of breaking apart underground rocks to extract natural gas.
It is “highly probable” that fracking, as the process is known, at the Preese Hall-1 site caused the seismic events, Cuadrilla Resources Ltd., a U.K.-based shale explorer, said in a report published today. The combination of geological factors that led to the events were rare and the strongest possible tremor, of a magnitude of 3, would not be a risk to safety or property on the surface, the report said.
The findings may still add to concern that fracking is harmful to the environment and slow its development in the U.K. While the technology has made the U.S. the world’s largest gas producer, France has halted fracking because of concern it may pollute drinking water. Cuadrilla estimates the reserves found near Blackpool may hold enough gas to supply the U.K. with all its gas for a year and a half.
“We unequivocally accept the findings of this independent report,” said Mark Miller, chief executive officer of Cuadrilla. “We are ready to put in place the early detection system that has been proposed in the report so that we can provide additional confidence and security to the local community.”
Houses Shaken
Cuadrilla earlier this year stopped operations after two tremors that were felt on the surface. One event measured 2.3 on the Richter scale on April 1 and another on May 27 measured 1.5. Homeowners in the seaside resort of Blackpool called the police after feeling their houses shake, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported.
Protesters from Frack Off, a group protesting against shale drilling, entered one of Cuadrilla;s sites today and stopped operations, a company spokesman said.
Pressure from fluids on a stressed fault zone probably caused the events, the report said. It is unlikely that other wells in the basin will encounter similar faults, the report said.
How dumb can you be to think this is from fracking. Oil companys been fracking in Texas for years and years and never had earthquakes. Where is the proof. Come on and come back to reality join the real world already.
Roscoe, the company agreed with the findings. “We unequivocally accept the findings of this independent report,” said Mark Miller, chief executive officer of Cuadrilla.
I miss Energy Moron’s opinion on these quakes.
He was expert on anthropogenic quakes, and about the only source I trusted.
Really, so if I tell you the earth was square you would believe me. They are just giving the people what they want to hear good tactic.
I believe locations south of San Antonio as well as other places in Texas do have earth quakes from time to time. As a matter of fact I believe they had one earlier this summer. They didnt say if it was related to fracking though.
I guess it’s theoretically possible if you did a huge volume of fracking right on a fault line that was ready to go, but I’m really, really skeptical about this. The power discrepancy is several orders of magnitude apart. This is like blaming a 30 car pileup on a mouse. At the very worst, it would speed up an earthquake that was going to happen soon anyway.
The final results/facts about fracking will be relased within 24 hours of the world ending. and how are those gas prices?
Roscoe- Uhm yes we have gotten small earthquakes and a massive sinkhole(Mt Belvieu/ area not to far back comes to mind, near the well ) or two. The difference is that the companies here won’t admit to it being their fault. I know I work in the energy field!!!
This is why it is hard to believe anything I read or hear from the mainstream media these days:
“hydraulic fracturing, a technique of grinding underground rocks to extract natural gas.”
Hydraulic fracturing is not a “a technique of grinding…rocks,” rather, as its name implies, it is a technique of pumping high pressure fluids into a nearly solid rock to fracture said rock (the rock being shale). When the first sentence of an article is completely incorrect, it is hard to believe anything else in the article.
Dollar
Me too. I drive by his house on the way home every night, see the solar panels he cursed/praised and remember his well-informed ramblings.
Can’t buy into their reasoning. If the geology was indeed unstable enough as to cause tremors by fracking, any gas in the formation would have either migrated into reservoirs and been sealed by geologic activity or filtered instead to the surface and into the atmosphere. The very fact that they were fracking a tight shale gas deposit in the first place tells me that the geology was stable enough to withstand fracking.
Dan, the reason the company accepted the findings is that it was politically expedient to do so, all science notwithstanding. Smaller oil and gas firms haven’t the financial resources to manage a protracted legal fight against an unscientific, bloated bureaucracy. Any major, integrated multinational energy company would have stood their ground.
Melly, As well do I. There are so many factors that play into this you cant just say it cause by fracking.Fracking might play a small very small role in to this. Not something anyone should just blame on fracking unless there is hard proof which no one has……….
With all of the fracking going on SouthWest of Fort Worth, the people in that area experienced several minor earthquakes in an area that had never experienced them before.
This is defiantly a possibility. I frac right now in Gonzalez, Texas and I have felt small tremors on the pad site from time to time. I woundn’t classify them as earthquakes.
It is nearly impossible for oil-field frac jobs to cause earthquakes. It may be that the frac job itself registers on the seismographs. I suggest that you research the epicenter depths of the earthquakes. The Blackpool quake was located 14 km (45900+ ft). The other UK quake was not located anywhere near Blackpool, and it’s epicenter was at 30 km (98400+ ft). Both quakes were way deeper than any frac job has ever been performed.
But, let’s not let genuine scientific facts spoil the sheeple from bleating their nonsense.
WHAT? This is borderline INSANE! Fracing is NOT about “Grinding” the rocks but rather cracking them open! Also, I defy anyone to show me evidence that this caused any seismic activity!
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Fracing is done every day (dozens of times per day) here in West Texas and we have yet to see any earthquakes due to it!
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Just another “Smear” piece by the Liberal Lunatic Media!
Chris:
I agree that it is rediculous that Bloomberg referred to fracturing as something that involved “grinding underground rocks.” My suspicion is the original story was written by a reporter in the UK who maybe doesn’t cover energy normally (Bloomberg has many very good energy reporters BTW) and it was edited by editors who also lacked familiarity with it. I’m not saying it’s an excuse for such an poor description (I changed it in the text just now on FuelFix) but rather the likely reason for it.
Tom- Why would you change it that just shows your trying to make people believe this bunch of garbage? Let it read the way it was originally written so everyone can see. This might help people to know all this is a false statement.
It is highly probable George Bush is at fault
If Adler’s info is correct, why is it not out there for all to see. Either the media ignores it or it’s not accurate, I choose the former.
What I see here are a whole lot of ‘experts’ and semi informed people, people with some modicum of expertise in the oil production industry , venturing opinions about an episode thousands of miles away, without access to any of the records from that episode,with few or any demostrable qualifications. I freely admit to having little knowledge about the process, but (isn’t there always a ‘but’) it seems unlikely that injecting high pressure liquid in high volumes into a stratum would not have repurcussions, some severe, some immediate, some forthcoming and cumulative. From what I’ve read the industry has begun (BEGUN) the necessary research, but in the meantime we are being advised by them ‘let us go ahead and do this, and we’ll get back to you on the impact’. I have to agree, slow steps, small steps, before we embark down this path.
And , Yes, I drive a car, heat my home, use electricity, etc. But I also drink water, live in a community that is dependent on water, live in a nation that prides itself on careful stewardship of resources and land and water.
Roscoe and others in denial: We’ve had numerous earthquakes in Texas related to fracking activities (either directly or disposal of fracking fluids). The largest most-recent was a 4.8 earthquake near Beeville in the area where Eagle Ford Shale is being fractured. There have also been a lot seismic events in the area outside the Metroplex and in west Texas. You want more “evidence”? What do you say about the decline of seismic activity after injection wells in or around Greenbrier, Arkansas, were closed in March?
There’s plenty of evidence mounting that fracking isn’t harmless. That includes pollution of ground (i. e., drinking) water, seismic activity, etc. For all of industry’s attempts to do some PR with their ad blitzes, the science just doesn’t support them that this is the least destructive/harmful method of gas production. It’s certainly among the most cost-effective for THEM. But for the rest of us, probably not.
Actually these are just the beginning of the birthpangs that Christ foretold of as a harbinger of His second coming. Not only earthquakes but floods, famines, pestilences, wars and rumors of wars, etc. Let’s don’t forget the nations surrounding Israel for the purpose of her destruction. Just the opposite will happen.
I lived in So. Cal for several years and felt many quakes. It usually takes around a 3 on the richter scale to feel one. I doubt the 1.5 or 2.3 are much different from an 18 wheeler passing by. My house shakes more from loud car stereos and Harleys.
Madman I do live in texas and i also know there have been a few light so called earthquakes. BUT THEY WERE NOT CAUSED BY FRACKING. You did not provide evidence but just assumption give me a break here.This is just another example of Liberal Lunatic Media !!!!
apmech, wells have been fraced since 1947, over 1.2 million times, if thats not enough data for you, then you will never have enough data.
Fracing has not been linked to earthquakes in USA. Injection wells, used for disposal of flow back from fracing, have been found to be likely causes of small mild earthquakes.
madman, can you site drinking water pollution from fracing ?
Cause if you can, you’ve got a scoop.
You need to call Lisa Jackson at the EPA and tell her bout this, just watch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4RLzlcox5c&feature=results_main&playnext=1&list=PLA1D81231A9517EAB
And they don’t frac shale formations because its cost effective, its done because its the only way to get the hydrocarbon out of the shale.
Or I guess, we could shut down all gas production from fraced wells and start importing nat gas, which was the plan before they began fracing with horizontal drilling.
We pussyfoot around with this and be even more at the mercy of countries who don’t like us, just so your irrational fears will be calmed.
A fracking well can cause a 4.0 earthquake about as much as a candle can melt steel. You are talking road flare to atom bomb in power comparisons. It’s just not possible.
Someone has been watching too much James Bond. Quite frankly I expect no matter the findings of the government researchers the potheads will continue to hold erroneous beliefs – just like the Gasland crew after they were proven wrong on the “flammable” drinking water.
There are many examples of ground water contamination from fracking, going back to the ’80s.
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/us/drilling-down-documents-7.html
http://www.vanityfair.com/business/features/2010/06/fracking-in-pennsylvania-201006
Next you’ll tell me it’s perfectly normal for people to be able to ignite water from aquifer and that Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Quality was wrong to turn off the wells in the affected areas. I mean, what’s a little methane, iron, and aluminum? Just because your hair falls out, your dishes rot in the dishwasher, and your pets become ill from tap water isn’t the end of the world. Right?
Geez.
@madman – Seriously man, when you quote a NYT news article source as an argument for case, you should have actually read the conclusions regarding water well contamination from fracking. For those of you who did not go to the referenced site, page 971 of the report totally blows madmans argument out of the sky.