Myths And Facts About Fracking March 2014

1. Myths And Facts About FrackingMarch 2014

3. Hydraulic Fracturing aka “Fracking” • Hydraulic fracturing is the use of water (98.5%), sand (1%) and chemicals (0.5%) under high pressure to fracture rocks adjacent to wellbores and thereby increase permeability • Fracking was first used in the nineteen forties in vertical wells to stimulate production in oil and gas wells • Fracking was combined with horizontal drilling in the eighties and nineties, resulting in the shale hydrocarbon extraction method we use today

4. Fracking Is Unconventional • Conventional oil and gas exploration and production involves the search for structural and/or stratigraphic traps containing migrated hydrocarbons • Shale gas production bypasses the search for such traps and goes directly to the shale source rock • This was not economically feasible before the horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (fracking) became technologically commonplace

5. Fracking Has Been Unfairly Targeted by Environmental Extremists

6. Myths About Fracking • “Hydraulic fracturing squanders our precious water resources.“ • “Fracking uses a lot of dangerous chemicals.” • “Fracking fluids contaminate drinking water.” • “Wastewater from fracking is radioactive.” • “Fracking destroys the environment.” • “Fracking makes tap water flammable.” • “Fracking is untested.”

7. Myth: “Hydraulic fracturing squanders our precious water resources.“ • The EPA estimated that fracking used between 70 and 140 billion gallons of water in 2011. • Typical usage is from 4 to 6 million gallons per well. • The sources of water used for fracking operations vary and may very well not be drinking quality water. • The EPA has estimated that if 35,000 wells in the USA were hydraulically fractured annually, the total amount of water consumed would be roughly equivalent to that used by 5 million people. • Americans use 20 times as much water on their lawns annually as is used in all fracking operations.

8. Myth: “Fracking uses a lot of dangerous chemicals.” • Fracking fluid is 98.5% water, 1% sand, and 0.5% chemical additives. • Some of these additives are also used in making food • Many are found in your kitchen. • Colorado’s Democratic governor, geologist John Hickenlooper, publicly drank fracking fluid to prove its safety to Colorado residents.

9. Myth: “Fracking fluids contaminate drinking water.” • This has never happened. • Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and an opponent of fracking, testifying before Congress: "I'm not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.“ • Over one million wells in the USA have already been fracked, and there are zero proven examples of contaminated water.

10. Myth: “Wastewater from fracking is radioactive.” • Shale does have a radioactive signature that geologists use to locate and map it. • That, however, does not mean the shale’s radioactivity poses a public health hazard • Government tests of both produced water (which is the leftover fracking fluid that is pumped back to the surface) and brine (naturally occurring formation water) has found no evidence of elevated radiation levels.

11. Myth: “Fracking destroys the environment.” • Fracking is carefully regulated • Fracking drilling sites and production facilities are subject to the same standards as conventional oil and gas operations. • Any actual damage done to the environment must be mitigated for. • After fracking operations are complete, the environment must be returned to pre-project conditions.

12. Myth: “Fracking makes tap water flammable.” • This has never been the case • The flammable tap water shown in an anti-fracking movie and on TV comes from a drilled water well that intersected a pocket of conventional natural gas and produces gas from it; fracking was never involved.

13. Myth: “Fracking is untested.” • Fracking began in the nineteen forties • Since then, over one million wells have been safely fracked in the USA alone, and over 2.5 million have worldwide. • Fracking is subject to the normal operational problems of oil and gas drilling, but no more. • Fracking is tested, safe and proven.

14. The Truth About Fracking • In January of 2014, the United States became the largest producer of oil and natural gas in the world, surpassing both Russia and Saudi Arabia, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. • Most Americans are unaware of this milestone, because the American media virtually ignored it. • What miracle allowed the United States to reach this goal? Dramatically increased production from fracking. • Fracking is safe, proven and effective, and it can make and keep America energy independent.

15. Actual Impacts Of Fracking Activity • Fracking operations have been shown to have Keynesian multiplier effects on local economies. • Land prices will surge throughout an area when successful fracking first begins. • Higher land prices will affect all relevant landowners' wealth. • Severance tax increases for governments have proven to be significant. • The economic effects on local economies can be greater than the direct impact of the production.