2. Where is Marcellus Shale?
• Here in Pennsylvania, a one to two MILES beneath
our feet, lies a layer of SEDIMENTARY rock known
as the Marcellus Shale, which is often said to
contain “more natural gas than Saudi Arabia has
oil” and natural-gas companies are lining up to drill
it all around the state.
3. What is Marcellus Shale?
• The Marcellus shale is a dark
shale that formed when a
shallow SEA covered
Pennsylvania 390 million
years ago.
• It is named after the town of
Marcellus, New York, where it
is actually at the surface, not
deep down like here in
Pittsburgh.
• Marcellus Shale contains the
fossil fuel NATURAL GAS.
4. What does Marcellus Shale Look Like?
• Shale is made of small
pieces of CLAY that have
been compressed
together.
• Marcellus shale contains
SPACES between the clay
particles. These spaces
are called pore spaces
and they are where the
natural gas is found.
5. Marcellus Shale under and Electron
Microscope
The arrows are pointing to the pore spaces
in the shale is where the natural gas is
found
6. How does Natural Gas Get into the Shale?
• Similar to the formation of oil, Natural Gas is a fossil fuel
that formed when the remains of TINY SEA ANIMALS
and algae were compressed under layers of sediment
for MILLIONS OF YEARS.
• The sediments were transformed into beds of rock, and
the organism remains underwent SLOW CHEMICAL
CHANGES and formed the natural gas (and sometimes
oil).
• Overtime, the natural gas moved upwards and settled
into the pore spaces of shale.
7. What are some properties of Natural Gas?
• Natural gas is very FLAMMABLE and is
mainly composed of methane.
• METHANE is a molecule made up of one
carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms,
and is referred to as CH4.
• The distinctive “rotten egg” smell that we
often associate with natural gas is
actually added to the gas before it is
delivered to your home. It is called
“Mercaptan.”
• Why is Mercaptan added to natural gas?
• MERCAPTAN HELPS TO DETECT GAS
LEAKS.
8. How and Why We Use Natural Gas
• When we fuel our car, we put 'gas' in it. However, the
gasoline that goes into your vehicle, petroleum, forms in a
similar way to but is not the same thing as natural gas.
• Natural gas is very useful to us - Your home and water are
HEATED and your stove and dryer work because of
natural gas! Although currently most of our electricity
comes from a coal-burning power plant, natural gas could
be used to generate electricity.
• Although natural gas is a fossil fuel, and the burning of
natural gas produces pollution, it is considered a much
CLEANER or less polluting fossil fuel than coal or
petroleum.
9. How do we get Natural Gas out of the Shale?
• The extraction of natural gas
in Marcellus Shale uses
VERTICAL and HORIZONTAL
drilling.
• A vertical well is drilled into
the shale and then turned
horizontally(The horizontal
sections may be more than
5,000 ft. long!)
• Layers of STEEL and cement
called “casings” are inserted
to support and protect drill
holes.
11. How do we get Natural Gas out of the Shale?
• Next, a technique called hydraulic fracturing or
“fracking”, is used to extract gas.
• Fracking forces water, sand and CHEMICALS down
the well at high pressures to break open CRACKS
or fractures in the shale which release the gas.
• Both the gas and wastewater flow back up through
the pipes. The gas must be separated from the
water and processed before it is piped to your
home.
12.
13. So, where does the drilling happen at?
• Many landowners who own the mineral rights to
their property are being approached with offers to
LEASE their land.
• Landowners are given signing bonuses as well as a
percentage of the royalties. Initially the landowners
who were being approached lived in RURAL areas
and owned large plots of land.
• However, the industry is moving closer and closer to
CITIES.
• In 2010, the City of Pittsburgh placed a temporary
ban on drilling. Before this, landowners in the
Lawrenceville and Lincoln Place neighborhoods in
Pittsburgh were approached by Chesapeake
Energy, a gas drilling company which wanted to
lease their land. You may have noticed the drilling
site next to PITTSBURGH MILLS MALL.
14. So, where does the drilling happen at?
The flame in the above picture shows a Marcellus
shale well “burning off” impurities. Notice the
Pittsburgh Mills shopping center right in front of it!
15. The Debate
• Natural gas exploration and extraction
from the Marcellus Shale poses both
POSITIVE and NEGATIVE impacts for
Pennsylvania communities.
• On the positive side, there is potential
for significant economic benefit and
community growth.
• On the negative side, there are
environmental impacts from drilling
gas wells.
16. The Positive
• The Marcellus Shale here could supply
Pennsylvania with natural gas ENERGY for many
years to come.
• According to EnergyFromShale.org, ONE typical
Marcellus Natural Gas Well in Pennsylvania
produces:
– 62 jobs created
– $2.8 million in direct economic benefits from gas
company purchases (supplies for drilling such as
steel)
– $1.5 million from industry workers spending wages,
or land owners spending royalties from lease
payments.
17. The Positive
• So how many natural gas wells are in Pennsylvania?
• July 2009-December 2010 resulted in 1,237 wells drille
in PA. Using the figures from EnergyFromShale.org:
Jobs created: 62 x 1,237 = 76,694
Direct Economic Benefits: 2.8 million x 1,237 = $3.5
billion
Wages and Royalties: 1,237 x $1.5 million =$1.9 billion
18. The Positive
• Gas companies do RESTORE the land
within nine months of plugging a well.
• However, the plugged well and cement pad
will still remain indefinitely on the property.
Restored Well Site
19. The Negative
• Everyone agrees that Marcellus Shale drilling has
created jobs in Pennsylvania, however the amount
is a source of CONTROVERSY: The Pennsylvania
Department of Labor and Industry says industries
related to natural-gas extraction directly and
indirectly created just over 13,000 jobs in the state
in 2010.
• Millions of gallons of WATER (5 million per well)
infused with dangerous chemicals are used in
fracking.
• Much of this water is extremely CONTAMINATED
and wastewater treatment plants cannot remove all
of the dangerous chemicals. Some of this water can
be reused for further drilling, but some cannot.
• If there is a gas spill, LEAK, or well blowout
(uncontrolled release of gas), gases and chemicals
can contaminate ground water and surface water,
which contaminates the water you DRINK!
20. The Negative
• For example, on June 3, 2010 a Marcellus Shale well in
Clearfield County, PA had a “blow out”. That well
spewed NATURAL GAS and drilling wastewater
contaminated with toxic CHEMICALS into the air for 16
hours!
– "If that accident had occurred in a populated area, like Lincoln
Place in Pittsburgh, it would have had a serious impact on
human health without a doubt," said Dr. Volz of the University of
Pittsburgh, referring to the city neighborhood where a drilling
company has been buying up gas drilling rights.
• Explosions at drill sites have caused dangerous FIRES
which have resulted in people being injured and
hospitalized as well.
• Other concerns include the impact on land such as
acres of forest being but down, and heavy gas company
TRUCKS hauling huge amounts of water are noisy which
badly damage roads.
21.
22. Fracking and Earthquakes?
• Sometimes wastewater used in fracking cannot
be cleaned.
• Disposal wells are “waste wells” are located
thousands of feet underground, in which used
frack wastewater is INJECTED back into the
earth.
• If done improperly, it can disturb FAULT LINES
(“cracks” in the Earth’s crust) to generate
EARTHQUAKES.
• Earthquakes began happening in 2011 near
Youngstown Ohio. Even one that registered 4.0
magnitude on New Year’s day!
• OHIO disposes of much of Pennsylvania’s
fracking waste in disposal wells.
