LAW: WILLIAM WILSON
some States in the USA, parts of Australia, some provinces in Canada and South Africa.
It has also been largely overlooked in the debates on whether these environmental concerns are or are not justified, that much European Union environmental regulation would already apply to the processes involved in hydraulic fracturing. In a regulatory context, developers would not only have to obtain the necessary consents for exploration and production, but would have to be able to demonstrate compliance with a range of environmental legislation.
For example, it seems likely on the basis of both legislation and recent case law from the European Court of Justice that significant amounts of contaminated well water could have to be treated as a waste pursuant to the Waste Framework Directive, and that rules and regulations for handling and disposal of
wholly good or wholly bad is gradually being displaced by a slightly calmer consideration, not before time, of the engineering and technical challenges that need to be addressed if it is to be undertaken safely and without damage to the environment.
A recent report by the UK’s Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering is more optimistic that these issues can be properly addressed. It considers that environmental risks (including seismic and water risks) can be properly managed in the UK, that fracture propagation is unlikely to cause contamination, and that well integrity is the highest priority. It cites the importance of robust monitoring, and calls for mandatory Environmental Risk Assessment.
As we wait to see if such calmer scientific and technical counsels will prevail, lively debates continue amongst the different interested
A recent report by the UK’s Royal Society and Royal Academy of Engineering is more optimistic that these issues can be properly addressed. It considers that environmental risks (including seismic and water risks) can be properly managed in the UK, that fracture propagation is unlikely to cause contamination, and that well integrity is the highest priority.
By way of example, the last cited report from the US House Democrats claimed that the 14 leading oil and gas service companies used 780 million gallons of hydraulic fracturing products (excluding water), and that these included 2,500 products containing 750 chemicals. The report pointed to the inclusion of 29 known or possible carcinogens, BTEX (benzene, toluene, xylene and ethylbenzene) compounds, Safe Drinking Water Act contaminants and hazardous air pollutants.
In response to this undercurrent of environmental concerns, the initial industry response was an ineffective reliance on political lobbying and public relations, rather than stopping to give the public concerns serious, reasoned and technical responses. It is surely no coincidence that bans and moratoria resulted in France, Switzerland,
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hazardous waste would apply depending upon the water’s content. Disposal of the water by reinjection would raise issues of compliance with the Groundwater Directive. Discharge of the water to other water bodies would require permitting and could be a criminal offence if it caused any environmental damage, or civil liability under the Environmental Liability Directive. Regulation of the chemicals themselves in Europe would undoubtedly be affected by the EU REACH chemicals Regulation. Other relevant EU legislation is likely to include:
• the Water Framework Directive; • the Drinking Water Directive; • the Mining Waste Directive; and
• the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive;
What seems to be happening now is that the rather sterile name-calling debates on whether shale gas exploration and production was
Member States within the European Union and amongst Members of the European Parliament, which, with the European Commission, has signalled the likelihood of forthcoming European Union legislation in this area.
Shale gas exploration and production in the USA has made an enormous difference to the energy market there, turning LNG import terminals into export terminals and profoundly affecting the price of gas and the profile of the country’s energy security. Many European Ministers would like to see similar dividends in their own countries, but to have the best chance of success, the emerging industry needs to overcome the impressions left by some of its early exponents in the US, to work with the grain of European environmental legislation, to base its case upon the best available scientific and technical appraisals and to deserve and build up the public’s trust in its operations.
Oil&GasCONNECT 39
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