Selling “Fracking”: Energy in Depth and the Marcellus Shale

The development of horizontal hydraulic fracture drilling or “fracking” has allowed for the extraction of deep, unconventional shale gas deposits in various shale seams throughout the USA. One such shale seam, the Marcellus shale, extends through New York State, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, where shale gas development has rapidly increased within the last decade. This has created a boom of economic activity surrounding the energy industry. However, this bounty comes with risks to environmental and public health and has led to divisive community polarization over the issue in the Marcellus shale region. In the face of potential environmental and social disruption, and a great deal of controversy surrounding “fracking” the oil and gas industry has had to undertake a myriad of public relations initiatives to legitimize their extraction efforts in the Marcellus shale region, and to frame the shale gas boom in a positive light to stakeholders. This article investigates one such public relations initiative, the Energy in Depth (EID) Northeast Marcellus Initiative. Through qualitative content analysis of EID's online web material, this article examines the ways in which the industry presents and frames natural gas development to the general public. Through appeals to patriotism, the use of environmental imagery, and a claimed commitment to scientific reason, the oil and gas industry uses EID to frame the shale gas extraction process in a positive light, all the while framing those who question or oppose the processes of shale gas extraction as irrational obstructionists.     

页岩气开发过程中存在的环境问题及对策

我国正处于页岩气开发的试验期,页岩气开发会带来水资源紧缺、水和土壤污染及甲烷泄漏等环境污染问题,因此,分析页岩气开发带来的环境问题并制定应对措施十分必要。文章详细分析了页岩气开发过程中可能引起的一系列问题,并结合我国页岩气开发实际情况提出了解决对策,希望能为我国页岩气的开发提供一定的参考。     

Questioning the local: environmental regulation,shale gas extraction,and the politics of scale

ABSTRACT

The exploration and potential extraction of shale gas – better known as fracking – has emerged as one of the most contentious dimensions to local environmental politics in the UK. Local residents and environmental activists have raised concerns about health, noise, ground water contamination, seismicity, environmental amenity, and other impacts of the industry on communities. Despite the complexities of shale gas extraction, an emphasis on the local has shaped key dimensions of the debate around the appropriate location for well pads to the relative exclusion of other issues. This paper draws on fieldwork in Lancashire, UK, to reflect on the political construction of scale in order to explore how an emphasis on “the local” can restrict political debate over shale gas to narrow concerns with land-use planning thereby obviating a fuller engagement with wider questions concerning risk, energy policy, and climate change. It is concluded that a more nuanced conception of scale is necessary for understanding how concerns with shale gas are diminished rather than strengthened through the current planning policy and regulatory regime operating in the UK.     

中国南方砂(页)岩铜矿床硫同位素地球化学研究

以中国南方著名的滇中和会理盆地砂页岩铜矿床宏观地质特征和硫同位素分析数据为基础，系统地研究了我国南方砂页岩铜矿床硫同位素组成特征。首次用筛分模式、分馏效应对硫同位素总体进行评分，结果表明硫主要有三个来源：有机质分解或还原流酸盐，占11．3％；地下水，占42．5％；热卤水，占46．2％。本研究为该类型矿床的成因、成矿地球化学环境及指导区域找矿勘探等提供了重要依据。     

砂页岩赤红壤磷肥活化效果及其机理研究

应用不同活化剂处理不同性质的磷肥，并对其在砂页岩赤红壤中的生物效应及作用机理进行了研究。结果表明，在砂页岩赤红壤上，施用供试的儿种经活化剂处理的磷肥均能显著提高蔬菜生物量。砂页岩赤红壤中的铁、锰质量分数与磷素的有效性有密切的关系，且在还原条件下，土壤铁、锰对磷的固定作用更大；硅、钙可促进土壤中磷的释放。供试活化剂不仅可促进难溶磷的释放，还可控制水溶性磷的释放，使土壤供磷性能平稳；有机活化剂的用量，用于难溶性磷促释时其质量分数为3％，用于水溶性磷控释时其质量分数约为14％。在土壤-植物体系中，活化剂对磷的促释和控释机理是它通过对土壤铁、锰、铝质量分数的调节而实现对磷的活化。     

我国页岩气开发环境问题及对策

天然气产业发展"十二五"规划提出加快页岩气产业发展,提高天然气在一次能源消费中的比重。我国页岩气的勘探开发还处在起步阶段,部分关键技术有待突破,资源管理机制有待完善,对页岩气开发环境问题的识别与解决与世界先进水平相比还存在很大差距。介绍了我国页岩气的资源状况,对比分析了中、美的页岩气成藏特性,总结了页岩气开发各环节可能存在的水资源浪费与污染、温室气体超量散逸等环境问题,进而从政府、地方、企业3个层面提出对策与建议,为我国页岩气安全开发提供借鉴。     

中国页岩气开发环境成本计量研究及政策建议

页岩气的开发过程中会产生潜在的环境污染问题且随着页岩气开发进程的推进,环境问题会逐渐凸显,因此对页岩气开发产生的环境问题进行量化描述显得尤为重要。针对页岩气开发带来的负面和正面环境影响,如水资源耗费、地下水污染、大气污染、生态环境破坏、地质灾害和替代煤炭节约的环境效益等,结合环境成本理论分别给出各方面环境成本的量化模型;综合各项环境成本因素,建立了页岩气开发环境成本量化模型,综合分析页岩气开发对环境的影响程度;建议完善页岩气企业环境成本信息披露体系,以环境报告书方式披露环境成本信息,增加透明度以消除公众疑虑,同时建立环境污染补偿机制,最大限度减少页岩气开发带来的环境成本。     

Impacts of Bakken Shale Oil Development on Regional Water Uses and Supply

The Bakken shale play in western North Dakota is one of the largest unconventional oilfields in the United States, but published research about impacts on the region's water resources is rare. In this study, besides examining North Dakota water management policies and activities, we also analyzed three datasets: the Bakken horizontal well completion data (2008‐2014), North Dakota permitted water consumption data (2000‐2014), and groundwater level and streamflow observations in western North Dakota (2000‐2014). We found from 2008 to 2014, the annual total industrial water uses for Bakken shale oil development ranged between 0.5 and 10% of statewide total consumptive water use. The percentage increases were between 3.0 and 40% within the Bakken oil production region. The increased population of temporary oilfield service workers contributed additional domestic water use, which was equivalent to ~15% of annual industrial water use for the shale oil development in the Bakken. Despite being in a semiarid region, the impact of Bakken development on regional water supply was limited because the water in the Bakken was adaptively managed and the region received on average over 20% more precipitation than normal during 2008‐2014. Of the 15 glaciofluvial aquifers under study, 12 have seen water levels increasing or unchanged and the water levels for the remaining 3 aquifers have decreased.     

环保物联网在涪陵页岩气开发环境监管中的应用研究

环保物联网是物联网技术在环境保护领域的智能应用,是促进战略性新型环保产业发展的重要手段.随着中国页岩气产业的快速发展,一系列环境问题日益凸显,为提高页岩气开发环境污染防控效率,以重庆涪陵页岩气勘探开发示范基地为研究对象,结合当前页岩气开发环境管理现状,介绍页岩气开发环保物联网基本架构,探讨环保物联网在页岩气开发环境监管中的应用,促进涪陵页岩气示范基地环境保护的精细化和智能化管理.     

油气田压裂返排液处理技术探讨

水力压裂是中低渗油田、非常规页岩气田增产开采的重要措施,开采会产生大量的压裂返排液,处理难度大,可能导致比较严重的水污染问题.首先基于国内外油气田压裂返排液的典型水质指标,分析了油气田压裂返排液的水质特点,包括组成复杂、多数水质指标超过国内污水回用标准、油气田压裂返排液组成差异大且处理难点不同;从处理原理、优缺点、油气田应用条件及效果出发,探讨了可用于油气田压裂返排液处理的相关技术,并提出了中国油气田压裂返排液处理存在的问题与相应的建议.