Shale Gas Development: How to Secure Both Energy and the Environment for Economic Benefit | AIChE

Shale Gas Development: How to Secure Both Energy and the Environment for Economic Benefit

February 23, 2012

On February 23, AIChE and the ACS Science & the Congress Project collaborated on a Congressional Briefing related to shale gas.

Shale gas is a source of natural gas (predominantly methane) residing in compact strata of porous rock several hundred to several thousand feet below the earth’s surface. In recent decades, innovation in the energy industry has made possible horizontal drilling and injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids to “frack” subterranean fissures through which natural gas can flow to the surface for extraction. This development has made it economical to tap shale gas in new locales, including Barnett Shale in Texas and the six-state Marcellus Shale. 

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