Natural Gas Drilling (Essay Sample)

Name:
Tutor’s name: class name: 12th May 2013
Introduction
The process of natural gas drilling has undergone transformation over the last few years due to advancement in technology. This paper will be addressing the effects of natural gas drilling to the people and the environment of Maryland in correlation to effects of the gas drilling to other parts of the world. These effects are the reasons why I propose that gas drilling should be prohibited. In earlier years, natural gas deposits could only be located by searching the surface for any evidence of underground formations. However, this method often proved difficult and inefficient due to the low amounts of natural gas deposits that seep to the earth’s surface. This is because many of the natural gas deposits are found near the oil deposits which are located deep in the earth’s crust. With the increase of fossil fuel demand, more efficient ways of locating these fuels became a necessity. Technology has brought numerous methods of locating where these fuels are, and once they are located, drilling has to take place for them to be reached  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"bmMSh2Np","properties":{"formattedCitation":"{\\rtf (\\uc0\\u8220{}Natural Gas Exploration\\uc0\\u8221{})}","plainCitation":"(“Natural Gas Exploration”)"},"citationItems":[{"id":487,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/UBKBR9EE"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/UBKBR9EE"],"itemData":{"id":487,"type":"webpage","title":"Natural gas exploration","container-title":"Natural gas","URL":"/naturalgas/exploration.asp","issued":{"date-parts":[["2011"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",4,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Natural Gas Exploration”).
Natural gas drilling is an expensive process from exploration to production. Several factors determine where to drill but the most important factor is the economic potential of the project. There are also legal processes to be followed like securing permits, landowners granting permission, leasing, and the associated loyalties. None of them can provide a guarantee that the drilled well will have natural gas deposits. If the well is productive, it is developed into extraction stage but if it is dry, the production stage does not proceed  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"DwqUyyT5","properties":{"formattedCitation":"{\\rtf (\\uc0\\u8220{}Natural Gas Extraction\\uc0\\u8221{})}","plainCitation":"(“Natural Gas Extraction”)"},"citationItems":[{"id":488,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/X4R4UAFS"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/X4R4UAFS"],"itemData":{"id":488,"type":"webpage","title":"Natural gas extraction","container-title":"Natural gas","URL":"/naturalgas/extraction.asp","accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",4,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Natural Gas Extraction”).
Various activities take place in the process of oil and gas drilling. These activities include ground clearing and vegetative cover removal, waste management, grading, drilling, construction of access roads and pipelines, and installation of facilities. Other likely activities include excavation and blasting by use of the dynamites to get to get construction materials like gravel and sand, construction of storage areas, installation of pumping stations and others  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"Af0Md3He","properties":{"formattedCitation":"{\\rtf (\\uc0\\u8220{}Oil and Gas Drilling/Development Impacts\\uc0\\u8221{})}","plainCitation":"(“Oil and Gas Drilling/Development Impacts”)"},"citationItems":[{"id":507,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/QGU4G96V"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/QGU4G96V"],"itemData":{"id":507,"type":"webpage","title":"Oil and Gas Drilling/Development Impacts","URL":"http://teeic.anl.gov/er/oilgas/impact/drilldev/index.cfm","issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",4,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Oil and Gas Drilling/Development Impacts”). All these activities have potential impacts on the environment and to the people of Mryland, which can be viewed interns of the positive and negative impacts. However, the truth is that the negative impacts outweigh the positive ones in the end. For this reason natural gas drilling should be prohibited in Maryland and all other places. This paper will discuss the case the case of natural gas drilling in Maryland, natural gas drilling in other states and the general effects of natural gas drilling.
The case of natural gas drilling in Maryland
Natural Maryland sits above the Marcellus shale, is a rock formation spanning from New York through Pennsylvania and down to Virginia  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"ctZwuF7g","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Mizeur)","plainCitation":"(Mizeur)"},"citationItems":[{"id":512,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/PD468QKA"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/PD468QKA"],"itemData":{"id":512,"type":"webpage","title":"Slowing Down Natural Gas Drilling in Western Maryland","URL":"/SlowDown","author":[{"family":"Mizeur","given":"Heather"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",4,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Mizeur). The Marcellus shale is an organically rich rock, low in density and dark in color. It can be found beneath the Garrett County, the Allegany County in Maryland, Ohio, much of Pennsylvania, New York, and West Virginia. It is estimated that the Marcellus shale is capable of producing natural gas to the tune of almost 500 trillion cubic feet which can power almost the whole of Maryland. The Marcellus shale was previously not considered significant for producing natural gas until technology proved the immense potential it has but the problem is that the gas is very hard to get. To drill gas wells in this shale would require a exceedingly technological process like horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing to be able to confine the locked away gas  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"LfjURTXG","properties":{"formattedCitation":"{\\rtf (\\uc0\\u8220{}Marcellus Shale Natural Gas in Garret County, MD\\uc0\\u8221{})}","plainCitation":"(“Marcellus Shale Natural Gas in Garret County, MD”)"},"citationItems":[{"id":515,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/3C48WDN7"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/3C48WDN7"],"itemData":{"id":515,"type":"webpage","title":"Marcellus Shale natural gas in Garret County, MD","URL":"http://marcellusshale.garrettcounty.org/","issued":{"date-parts":[["2013"]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",4,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (“Marcellus Shale Natural Gas in Garret County, MD”).
Many drilling companies have by now applied for permits and pieces of land have been chartered for gas drilling to begin in Maryland. Nevertheless, the process has hit a snag. In response to fears, Maryland General Assembly has banned the process. Due to the growing concerns over hydraulic fracturing process, a bill placing a moratorium until the environment department finished a study focused on determining the impact of natural gas drilling on public health and drinking water. The moratorium will be in place for two years and the study will be completed in August 2013  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"OaPMD3v4","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Fears)","plainCitation":"(Fears)"},"citationItems":[{"id":516,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/XF6846MK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/XF6846MK"],"itemData":{"id":516,"type":"article-newspaper","title":"Sitting atop huge gas reserve, Maryland debates drilling practice known as fracking","container-title":"The Washington Post","section":"National","source":"washingtonpost.com","abstract":"Officials are weighing potential profits from fracking against environmental concerns","URL":"/national/sitting-atop-huge-gas-reserve-maryland-debates-drilling-practice-known-as-fracking/2011/03/22/AFDuInkB_story.html","ISSN":"0190-8286","language":"en-US","author":[{"family":"Fears","given":"Darryl"}],"issued":{"date-parts":[["2011",3,28]]},"accessed":{"date-parts":[["2013",4,26]]}}}],"schema":"https://github.com/citation-style-language/schema/raw/master/csl-citation.json"} (Fears).
Heather Mizeur who sponsored and drafted the legislation stated that they were not going to drill first and ask questions later like other states did. This proposal delays the plans of companies that had spent millions of dollars in leasing properties to drill gas in Garrett County. Maryland law makers state that they have listened to the complaints of residents and environmentalists of other states Like Pennsylvania  ADDIN ZOTERO_ITEM CSL_CITATION {"citationID":"JSoPsKPm","properties":{"formattedCitation":"(Fears)","plainCitation":"(Fears)"},"citationItems":[{"id":516,"uris":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/XF6846MK"],"uri":["http://zotero.org/users/local/PILHxziX/items/XF6846MK"],"itemData":{"id":516,"type":"article-newspaper","title":"Sitting atop huge gas reserve, Maryland debates drilling practice known as fracking","container-title":"The Washington Post","section":"National","source":"washingtonpost.com","abstract":"Officials are weighing potential profits from fracking against environmental concerns","URL":"/national/sitting-atop-huge-gas-reserve-maryland-debates-drilling-practice-known-as-fracking/2011/03/22/...