Fractastic

21 January 2010 By Christopher Swann

New drilling techniques have unearthed 50 years supply of natural gas in America. This could smooth the path to a lower carbon economy and reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil. That’s if the likes of Exxon Mobil can persuade Washington that gas deserves a legislative nudge.

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Rex Tillerson, chief executive of ExxonMobil, testified in the U.S. Congress on Jan. 20 about Exxon's agreement to acquire XTO Energy. Tillerson talked about hydraulic fracturing, telling the House energy and environment subcommittee that the technique was safe and would help strengthen our nation's energy goals and help meet our nation's environmental goals.

Representative Edward Markey, who chairs the subcommittee, raised questions about whether hydraulic fracturing could pollute drinking water supplies.

Hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – involves pumping water and other materials under high pressure deep into rock formations that hold gas. The process fractures the rock and holds open the fissures to allow gas to flow to the surface.

The relatively new uses of fracking combined with horizontal drilling techniques caused the Potential Gas Committee, an authority on gas supplies, to increase its estimate for U.S. gas reserves by 35 percent last year to 2,074 trillion cubic feet. Along with other unconventional sources of gas, this equates to around 50 years of domestic usage, according to Navigant Consulting.

A fracking operation releasing gas from shale can also deliver an initial output of up to 30 million cubic feet a day compared to just 500,000 for a conventional well, according to Cambridge Energy Research Associates.

The U.S. Congress is considering bills that would subsidize up to 80 percent of the extra cost of natural gasfueled vehicles and move the federal government's fleet towards natural gas.

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