Shale Gas: "Wasting the Resource"

For your SGEIS comments:

In ECL § 23-0301, the Legislature of the State of NY has declared that it is

“... in the public interest to regulate the development,
production and utilization of natural resources of oil and gas
in this state in such a manner as will prevent waste...."

Yet the SGEIS allows for both venting and flaring.


Well Flaring. Photo Credit: Rich Waters, via Gloria Forouzan,
Oct 4, 2011. Portersville, Butler Co. PA.


Compressor station venting.
Orig. photo Credit: Frank Finnan
from this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaivKGwoTgU


It just so happens that the nominal way shale gas is developed
is that the largest bubble of gas by volume,
at the beginning of the life of the well,
when the well is producing at the highest pressure,
is just thrown away... thus wasting the resource.

Also, since the shale is extremely dry, hydrofracking
causes the shale to absorb massive amounts of water.
Only a certain percentage of the gas is reclaimable
this way. The resultant wet-shale makes the development
of the remaing gas impossible... thus wasting the resource.

I hope this point makes it in to some of your comments.

(Thanks to Cris McConkey for explaining this point to me)

BH