Business, Government Legal News from throughout WVFederal Shale Gas Committee Confident in Gas, Encourages Progress

Federal Shale Gas Committee Confident in Gas, Encourages Progress

Unlike the increasingly unpopular coal industry, natural gas seems to be making friends in Washington. Even so, Washington energy officials are calling on shale gas operations to do more as domestic energy providers.

In a release accompanying 20 recommendations for shale gas drillers, the U.S. Department of Energy's Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Shale Gas Subcommittee called developments thus far "disappointing." The report was the second Ninety Day Report produced by the committee.

The report points to the important role natural gas could play in reducing both carbon emissions and reliance on foreign sources of energy.

In a meeting of the SEAB Monday, subcommittee Chairman John Deutch, an MIT professor, said the committee has been "quite pleased" with the general reception of their report. The recommendations outline a number of federal and state directives to regulate shale gas.

"There is a tremendous pattern of diversity in the regulation of shale gas and other environmental activities in the country between federal and state," Deutch said. "That separation does make it challenging and difficult to take what I would call a systems approach to some of these issues."

Water quality, Deutch said, is particularly worrisome when it comes to the patchwork of laws and regulations regulating shale gas drilling. Those laws, in most states where activity is booming, is often subject to change.

West Virginia is still formulating its own laws, while Ohio and Pennsylvania have recently made numerous changes to their oil and gas drilling regulations.  

Deutch said his committee was not charged with the task of reconciling differences between state and federal regulations, but he recommended that the issue be addressed in the near future.

Complicating the matter of shale gas even further is that the resource is also being developed in other countries, Deutch said. Some North America shale gas plays are shared with Canada and Mexico. The United Kingdom has developed shale gas plays.

China has extensive shale gas reserves as well. Deutch said there is potential for working globally and making partnerships to environmentally drill for natural gas.

"The pace of our development and our background as a country means that we have been much more conscious, despite the distances we still have to go … in these environmental matters, than any other country in the world," Deutch said. "I suspect that over time, many countries, China included, will be looking to us in how to manage shale gas production."

Growth in China has already had a major impact on the U.S. energy market. Steel-making metallurgical coal from Central Appalachia was largely boosted by demand from China and India.

Chinese shale gas may not be an immediate competitor to domestic supplies, as China may face its own implementation problems.

"China does have considerable shale gas resource base," Deutch said. "On the other hand, their water issues are much more demanding. They are not as blessed with water availability and water quality as we are."

One of the recommendations in the SEAB Shale Gas Subcommittee report is to establish baseline air and water quality sampling and monitoring. The group also encourages a lot of research into further developments that may be needed for the industry.

Reid Porter of the American Petroleum Institute said the industry is working on developing regulations as they are necessary based on best-practices adapted to specific regions, geography and other factors.

"In addition to promoting industry standards and practices throughout the industry, the oil and natural gas industry is working with the regulators in states where shale energy development is occurring to share our knowledge and encourage them to help us raise the bar on performance," Porter said.

In Pennsylvania and West Virginia Porter said, API was asked to return to provide full training for state regulators.

"Hydraulic fracturing and the development of shale energy are helping to lead an economic and energy revolution throughout America," Porter said. "They're creating jobs, generating revenue, and enhancing our energy security. We can make the most of this opportunity by continuing to access it responsibly, and we are doing our part."

The committee also heard concerns about the need for health risks assessments for those who may be affected by natural gas development as well. One commenter said there should be more consideration of pathways toxic materials could take to human populations.

Federal recommendations include public education, increasing intergovernmental cooperation, reducing emissions, collecting emissions data, encouraging emissions reductions, increasing transparency for the public and developing new research.

States are asked to measure and report composition of water through the fracturing and cleanup process, adopting best practices for well construction and requirements for baseline water quality information.

Natural gas locked in shale gas formations requires techniques different from other forms of gas drilling. Additionally, relatively recent natural gas shale reserve productions have vastly improved the resource's potential as a domestic energy source.

While some have seen natural gas as a replacement for coal, others have looked to at it as a complementary industry that would instead reduce reliance on foreign fossil fuels.