Shale Gas is methane
(natural gas) which is trapped in impermeable shale rock deep underground,
unlike conventional natural gas which is in permeable rocks, such as sandstone.
The gas cannot flow through the shale, so simply drilling a well, as you would for
conventional natural gas, is not enough. The shale rock must be cracked to free
the gas, hence the need for hydraulic fracturing (fracking). For the same
reason it is necessary to drill large numbers of wells at regular intervals. To
produce as much gas as a conventional gas field with a dozen or so wells, would
require hundreds or thousands of shale gas wells.
Because of the much more
intense nature of the shale gas extraction process it is associated with much
more negative impacts than conventional drilling. These include leaking
methane, water contamination, air pollution, radioactive contamination, massive
industrialisation of the landscape.
Therefore if the government has a good HSE in the place of the
exploration it will be OK to start the drilling process.
Eltayeb Hajmedani
Geologist
