The Barnett Shale Energy Education Council (BSEEC) is a community resource that provides information to the public about gas drilling and production in the Barnett Shale region in North Texas.
Fact Sheets & Presentations | About Ed Ireland, Ph.D. | Newsletter Archive
MYTH vs TRUTH
MYTH: Fracking pollutes water.
TRUTH: Tim Kustic, California Div. of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, said in 2012: “There is no evidence of harm from fracking in groundwater in California at this point in time. And it has been going on for many years.”
California Div. of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources
MYTH: Fracking is dangerous.
TRUTH: Mark Nechodom, Director of California Department of Conservation, said in 2013: “In California it [fracking] has been used for 60 years, and actively used for 40 years, and in California there has been not one record of reported damage directly to the use of hydraulic fracturing.”
EPA
MYTH: Texas Commission on Environmental Air Quality has stated there is more air pollution coming from the energy industry in Dallas-Fort Worth than all the cars and trucks in the area.
TRUTH: This claim relies on a study conducted in 2009 by then SMU Professor Al Armendariz that has been thoroughly debunked by the Barnett Shale Energy Education Council.
Barnett Shale Energy Education Council
MYTH: The Colorado study that suggested methane leakage rates from oil and gas systems were twice as high as previously thought.
TRUTH: Methane leakage claims have become anti-drilling activists’ answer to the impressive and undeniable reductions in American greenhouse gas emissions that have resulted from an increased use in natural gas.
energyindepth.org
MYTH: Earthquakes and sinkholes in the area are due to hydraulic fracturing.
TRUTH: The National Research Council put it best: “hydraulic fracturing a well as presently implemented for shale gas recovery does not pose a high risk for inducing felt seismic events.”
energyindepth.org
MYTH: Natural gas developed from shale increases net greenhouse gas emissions.
TRUTH: From 1990 through 2010 the natural gas industry reduced methane emissions by about 20 percent, while natural gas production has grown by nearly 40 percent.
Source: U.S. EPA, Associated Press, EPA Methane Report Further Divides Fracking Camps
MYTH: A 2012 University of Colorado Denver School of Public Health study that allegedly demonstrated an increase in cancer among people living within 1/2 mile from a site.
TRUTH: The cancer risks identified in the study (which EID debunked here) are actually in line with or well below the risk for the entire U.S. population, regardless of where they live.
energyindepth.org
@BSEECThree different studies concerning drilling/hydraulic fracturing and the possible connection to water well contamination were released last month. The studies were conducted by the Department of Energy; Researchers from Ohio State University, Duke University and the University of Rochester; and the University of Texas at Arlington. According to the Times Record News of Wichita Falls,...
The Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA) shared this informative graphic that shows how much land is required to produce enough energy to power 8,000 homes for a year.
It takes just one natural gas well covering 0.02 hectares (0.05 acres) to power 8,000 homes for a year. In...
A recent article from Dr. Ray Perryman of The Perryman Group in Waco, Texas, reported about unconventional oil- and natural gas-bearing formations and their benefit to the economy. Not only do they provide millions of jobs across the nation, they also provide the U.S. with a positive economic...
The energy industry is substantially reducing methane emissions from natural gas and oil production and is expected to continue reducing emissions, says an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) report released September 30, 2014.
According to the EPA, reported methane emissions from the petroleum and natural gas systems sector have...
A ban on drilling in Denton, as is proposed on the city’s Nov. 4 ballot, will lead to economic damage, loss of property rights, and legal problems that could be very costly to Denton taxpayers.
First, let’s be clear: The Denton initiative has been portrayed as a ban only on hydraulic fracturing, but it’s actually a ban on drilling. Denton sits atop the Barnett Shale, and drillers there...
The Office of Fossil Energy in the U.S. Department of Energy recently published a classroom poster, Common Products Made from Oil and Natural Gas, that asks the question, “Did you know most of this stuff comes from oil and natural gas?”
The poster is produced as an educational item for children, but it is beneficial for...
Natural gas vehicles are cost efficient and boast low emissions, and it seems that Texas has caught on. Sales of natural gas as a motor fuel are surging in Texas. In October 2013, Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter launched a natural gas initiative to promote natural gas as a transportation fuel...
On Nov. 4, 2014, residents of Denton, Texas, will vote on a referendum to ban hydraulic fracturing within the city limits; however, make no mistake about it – a ban on hydraulic fracturing is a ban on all drilling. This is borne out by the numbers: Approximately 20,000 natural gas wells have been drilled in the Barnett Shale and every one has been hydraulically fractured.
When oil and...
A new economic impact study of the fiscal contributions of the Barnett Shale was released today. The study, commissioned by the Fort Worth Chamber of Commerce and conducted by The Perryman Group (TPG) of Waco, reports that despite reduced drilling and fluctuating natural gas prices, Bartnett Shale production...
Some residents in Denton, Texas – located in North Texas atop the Barnett Shale – have proposed a ban on hydraulic fracturing within the Denton city limits. Such a ban goes further than just hydraulic fracturing, it is actually a ban on drilling altogether. This is because Barnett Shale natural gas wells do not produce natural gas until they are hydraulically fractured (a well completion...
A new economic impact study titled: “The Adverse Impact of Banning Hydraulic Fracturing In The City of Denton on Business Activity and Tax Receipts in the City and State” will be presented to Denton City Council on Tuesday.
Fort Worth, Texas, Monday, July 14, 2014 – A hydraulic fracturing ban in Denton would cost the city and...
The U.S. Energy Information Administration’s (EIA) latest Annual Energy Outlook has U.S. total natural gas consumption growing from the current 25.6 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) to 31.6 Tcf in 2040. According to the EIA graph, while all sectors show increases in consumption, except residential, the growth is driven primarily by...
It may not be widely known, but the air in the Barnett Shale area of North Texas is the most monitored air in the U.S. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has installed a system of 15 permanent automated gas chromatograph (AutoGC) stations in the Barnett Shale area that take air samples every hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The data is available to the public...
In early May 2014, in conjunction with the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), the Obama administration released its 2014 National Climate Assessment. According to USGCRP, the purpose of the National Climate Assessment, which is conducted every four years, is to summarize the current and future impacts of climate change on the U...
The United States is experiencing a boom in energy production, thanks to hydraulic fracturing. Practically every natural gas and oil well drilled in America is hydraulically fractured using a mixture that is 99.5 percent water and sand and .5 percent chemical additives. As hydraulic fracturing has...
