Environment,    Opinion

The California Guide To Better Living Through Acid

By Tom Chandler 9/12/2013

The fracking boom is laying waste to huge swaths of the western landscape, but drillers in California -- the state that's known for doing things a little bit differently -- think that's just not damaging enough.

Instead, they're pumping acid into the ground and just melting the rocks (from SF Gate: "Acidizing Could Rival Fracking..."):

Companies trying to pry oil from a vast shale formation beneath Central California have been pumping powerful acids underground to dissolve the rock and free the petroleum within.

And there are hints that the process, known as "acidizing" a well, may work better than hydraulic fracturing in California's Monterey Shale, estimated to hold 15.4 billion barrels of oil.

"There's a lot of discussion around the Monterey Shale that it doesn't require fracking, that acidizing will be enough to open up the rock," said Chris Faulkner, chief executive officer of Breitling Oil and Gas. "I think it could be a way to unlock the Monterey. And people need to understand that this is a huge resource that could mean a lot of jobs."

OK. We're pumping acid into the ground. And not your weak, garden-variety acid, but hydrofluoric and hydrochloric acids.

Obviously, there's no way that's going to come back to haunt us.

But, California's on top of it, right? I mean, the state that seems willing to regulate almost every aspect of pretty much everything wouldn't just let a company pump acid into the ground like it was water...

State officials still don't have a clear idea how many wells in California have been stimulated with acid. The state agency that regulates oil drilling - the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, within the California Department of Conservation - doesn't keep track, although it might in the future.

More excellentness.

I know industry treats the concept of pumping acid and solvents and dog knows what else into the ground with a certain aplomb -- as if we've been doing this for centuries and we've got the whole process basically licked -- but I don't believe it.

It's like Pebble Mine advocates believing that two gigantic earthen dams will hold toxic runoff away from pristine salmon spawning habitat basically forever.

I mean, I don't think the Pebble Mine people actually believe they can pull that one off, but for the sake of short-term profits, they're willing to pretend.

I'm hardly an earth/gaia type who believes every rock is sacred, but I'm also aware of corporate America's long history of doing stupid shit now because the downside won't rear up until long after the quarterly P&&L statement has "met shareholder expectations."

This seems like one of those moments.

At its best, this is a good example of an industry externalizing its costs -- not just on taxpayers, but on the future.

See you pouring acid down my pants (and wondering later why it burns), Tom Chandler.
AuthorPicture

Tom Chandler

As the author of the decade leading fly fishing blog Trout Underground, Tom believes that fishing is not about measuring the experience but instead of about having fun. As a staunch environmentalist, he brings to the Yobi Community thought leadership on environmental and access issues facing us today.

50 comments
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Here's an example of fracking harming our favorite resource. http://www.ewg.org/enviroblog/2013/09/fracking-fluids-spill-caused-kentucky-fish-kill-0 Lets hope people wise up before the genie is completely out of the bottle...
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That doesn't surprise me. Last year here in Kansas we felt a couple small tremors (first time its happened here in my lifetime) that I believe were being linked to a fracking operation in northern Oklahoma.
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Just to add a little news to this thread, I just stumbled across a news story saying researchers had conclusively tied a series of Ohio earthquakes to fracking (actually the underground injection of the massive amounts of wastewater generated by fracking).
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Interesting discussion! Gets a bit boring to hear the choir sing in one key all the time. It is nice to get a fresh point of view from someone like allencic. Keep it up.
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Ay yi yi... All we need... one more thing. I was going to jump in here and add my 2 cents about development and conservation and the incompetancy of government regulators and how it's all really works the way most people want it, but I think I better go fishing instead...
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The problem is, we never know the ramifications of our actions until decades later. Tough call here. We have more people on earth today and we are stuffing more and more activity into our lives which includes more and faster driving, more comfort in our homes and more synthetic things to play with. What do we do? It will take the combined efforts of every being to practice a bit more conservation ... more in their lives. I don't see that happening on a grand scale. Too much at stake...too much to give up...too much economical loss. So, we will just pass the ramification of our greed and waste onto the next generations to try to fix or likely suffer from in some way, just like our predecessors did for us, only the mess gets bigger and bigger each time. One day, those who we pass the mess to will not survive it, at least it is likely something will not survive it. How many great environmental changes have taken place over the billions of years of the earths existence. It is foolish to believe things have stopped changing....foolish to think that humans will be the last creatures standing...foolish to think we can focus on our bottom line for our own retirement and not think about those in the future.....I believe there will be hell to pay someday for our actions. We may not pay it but other things will.
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Nicely said...
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Sweet! So the next time one of my subcontractors cleans out his paint sprayer on the client's lawn (true story) kills the grass and poisons their dog, I should just say "tough shit man, that's the price of capitalism, If you don't like it, don't paint your house???" As consumers of petroleum products, we are in fact responsible for petroleum extraction. So how is it in any way hypocritical to demand ... more responsibility of the companies doing the extraction? I don't believe anyone is suggesting we abandon all petroleum use immediately and forever, but for the sake of out future, perhaps we ought to give some intelligent thought as to how we go about obtaining it.
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"This process of paying more is known as “putting your money where your mouth is.”" I think the words you are looking for are "dumb" and "impractical".
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I wasn't going to add any more to this discussion but here is a possible solution. Since everyone is using petroleum products in their daily lives but is against fracking here's a way to reconcile the conflict. When you go to gas up your truck on the way to your favorite trout stream you go to the separate pump that sells more expensive gasoline certified to be produced from "frack free" petroleum. ... more I think something like fifty cents per gallon more would be just about right. If you heat your house with natural gas you could get your utility company to charge you a surcharge (50% more would be about right) to certify that you house is kept warm with "frack free" natural gas. I'm sure all you greenies would love to pay more to save the world. Sort of like buying more expensive free range arugula for your salad. Already my heating bill is higher because I'm forced to pay more for so-called alternate energy. This process of paying more is known as "putting your money where your mouth is."
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+1 This guys logic is like when people complain about the government and someone inevitably says "If you don't like it then just leave." Uh sorry but thats not how it works, so to call us hypocrites and suggest our opinions are irrelevant if we have any connection to products related to oil and natural gas is ridiculous, thats just not how it works. Also, what about the earthquakes being linked to ... more fracking? Or are those just another wonderful benefit from this great process?
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I wanna party with you, cowboy. I've gotta find an excuse to get to BC. You have fish there, right?
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I prefer to think I'm a scientific realist. Of course I could believe everything that famous scientist Al Gore says. He's always been right about the environment. I'm out of here too. I hope all of you save the earth from fracking. By walking to the drilling sites of course. No fair driving your Prius (I mean Pious).
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Mat you are correct, Allenic seems a true believer. I think I will conserve electrons, too...
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Awww, you're a denier. How cute. But you should've made that clear earlier; I wouldn't have wasted my time in attempting an intelligent discussion with you. Keep your stick on the ice, folks. I'm out on this one.
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Craig and Matt, Are you guys off your meds? Of course fracking should be done as safely as possible. Show me exactly your evidence that fracking is destroying the environment. Be specific. No maybes, perhaps, it might, it is possible that...... Am I wrong in assuming that you also buy into the scientific nonsense that carbon dioxide is the devil incarnate?
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Energy independent? Really? That fracked gas is destined for foreign markets. It's part of the gas companies strategies for growth (and growth of profits...). It will also mean higher natural gas prices in the U.S. Check this out: http://ecowatch.com/2013/doe-approves-lng-exports-from-dominion-cove-point-to-non-fta-countries/
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Ergo: I enjoy sex therefore I should support rape.
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I'm pretty sure if we lived 160 years ago you'd be calling those opposed to slavery hypocrites for wearing cotton. Business as usual is all that matters to your ilk, so anything I write beyond this is a waste of my time. But I'll try anyway So, let's ignore the millions of litres of water needed for fracking, or the acid used (though some techniques use propane), and ignore any impact of carbon emissions, ... more and ignore the reluctance to develop any alternative energy sources due to the assumed abundance of oil & natural gas. While we're at it, let's presume the technology is perfectly sound, too. The issue is human error. Well casings failing: human error. Deepwater Horizon: human error. Where I'm from, a former prof was interviewed about fracking, and what he said measures up 100% to my issue with it (I paraphrase): the local geology isn't the issue, nor is the technology or the regulations. Our province lacks the ability and know-how to inspect, supervise and enforce the regulations." And no, I don't sit at a desk and do computer modelling all day.
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I assume that the bamboo strips are glued together with old fashioned water soluble hide glue rather than an oil based adhesive. What seems to allude you is that our modern world wouldn't exist (and that means most of your fishing gear) without oil and gas. Never let facts get in the way of your thinking (or lack of it).
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So I use polyurethane to finish the silk warps on my bamboo rod; therefore I should favor fracking. The logic model involved there eludes me. Or maybe it alludes me. I'll use one less coat next time to pay penance.
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Of course we need to frack more. If we became energy independent do you think we'd give a flying "you know what" about who killed who in the middle east? If we undercut the oil despots of the world by opening up our vast resources we could have them back to eating sand and camel dung.
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And you believe we need to frack more?
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For those who would only fish with cane because it's more "natural and organic" than graphite let's take a look at what materials are in a modern cane rod. First, the tonkin cane has to be shipped from southern China. Do you think they floated it across the Pacific? Second, all the tools to split and machine the cane are derived from iron and the various components of steel alloys like tungsten and ... more nickel. All that means mines all around the world. Third, the adhesive to glue the triangular strips is likely a modern one derived from petroleum based products. The finish is probably polyurethane varnish. Polyurethane was first created in 1937 by I.G. Farben in Germany. The same folks who gave us that lovely effective product known as Zyklon-B made famous at Auschwitz among other places. The thread wrapping the guides is oil based nylon. The epoxy finish on the wraps is oil based too. If you have a high end reel seat with nickel silver fittings you got that alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc (it contains no silver) from those nasty things called mines. See, it's so easy to rant against fracking when you have no idea where the raw material for all your fishing toys come from.
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Amen, Michael. And the logic behind breaking things to fix broken things has always escaped me.
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Good point. What a world we live in - so much needs fixing: http://vimeo.com/73234721
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Are you one of those geologists who spends all day making computer models?
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Mike, I don't think anything is stopping you from living a petroleum free life. Get going and dump all those modern oil derived things in your life. Including your computer or smart phone that lets your read these blogs.
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You describe a pretty nice world in a lot of ways.
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I assume that all who fear fracking lead a fishing life free of all petroleum and natural gas derived products. You only fish with cane rods, silk lines, no Gore-Tex, no polyester fleece, no nylon leaders, no fluorocarbon tippets, no nylon thread holding your flies together or wrapping the guides on your rod, no stealth rubber soles on your waders, no silicone fly floatant, no polycarbonate lenses ... more on your polaroid sunglasses, etc., etc. And of course you all walk or ride a bike to your favorite river and you only row your wooden boat with wooden oars when you go on your trip to Alaska or Belize. If you didn't do all these things then some might find your rant against fracking just a little bit hypocritical. We probably shouldn't frack to exploit our oil and gas. Much more sensible to rely even more heavily on the Middle East and places like Venezuela. It's so sensible to give Russia and OPEC more control over our lives. After all why wouldn't you want expensive gasoline and high utility bills. You'd just waste the extra disposabale income on something foolish like a new high end graphite rod who's raw material is pitch from petroleum for the carbon fibers.
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An amigo just pointed me towards this blog because of my soon-to-be published novel, The Fracking War.' I think I might need to add a chapter or two, but I'll have to read up on acid (the in-the-ground kind). Here in Central NY, the gas storage companies are drilling out salt caverns to store propane and natural gas for eventual shipping to China and European markets. What could possibly go wrong?
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When you're a jet...
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I'm not one of those geologists that drives around, points at occasional structures in road cuts while wearing a totally clean cruiser vest just to justify sipping on a scotch in the evening. Ex-hockey fighter, former rugby player, ex-bouncer, and when I found out I might be travelling to eastern Turkey, I studied that crazy-ass Israeli hand-to-hand combat for 25 hours/week for 2 months. There will ... more be no awkward dancing on my part. :)
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I love it when geologists duke it out. It's like the Sharks and the Jets except with loupes instead of switchblades. And the dancing is more awkward.
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As a current geologist, I've seen many geologists at or near retirement age that don't give two flying f**ks about the how things are done, or the long term impacts of doing them. We have one generation of people not giving a shit about the earth, just as long as their stock options or retirement plans get funded, followed by another generation (or two) that are predominantly too stupid, lazy or apathetic ... more to stop them.
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"See you pouring acid down my pants (and wondering later why it burns)" Dude. Gold Bond. Seriously.
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As a retired geologist (and fly fisherman since I was 10 years old) I've yet to meet anyone opposed to fracking who has the slightest clue how groundwater systems operate or have a clue how oil and gas is trapped in the ground. Fracking sounds bad so they're against without any solid knowledge at all. If you're against it that's fine but you damn well better not be heating your house with natural ... more gas or driving a gasoline powered car to your favorite trout stream. There's a concise scientific term for your thoughts and behavior. The term is HYPOCRITE.
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look at the silver lining…maybe this will spawn a new “erin brockovich”. I just don't have the boobs for it.
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You got Fellaini. The hair (and cheap headbutts) alone should carry the season. No?
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look at the silver lining...maybe this will spawn a new "erin brockovich".
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I’d be willing to bet none of them have ever spent any considerable time in the outdoors. Or in acid.
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And herein lies our problem on so many levels. Well, that and ManU's inability to land a stellar player in the transfer market. Those two things explain a lot...
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Huh…just like Gov. Moonbeam..insure generations of hippies by pumping acid into the aquifer…. If only.... (see above)
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Nice to know that Pennsylvania isn’t the only state that doesn’t give a shit about these drillers. Oddly, I don't feel any better.
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’bout time we started pumping acid in the ground. Unintentional Grateful Dead Pardoy Quote Of The Week (or, true, but it's not that kind of acid...)
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I vote we put this process through long term testing in the middle east first..... But seriously, these people are so consumed with the almighty dollar that they don't care what they hurt to get it and I'd be willing to bet none of them have ever spent any considerable time in the outdoors.
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Huh...just like Gov. Moonbeam..insure generations of hippies by pumping acid into the aquifer....
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Nice to know that Pennsylvania isn't the only state that doesn't give a shit about these drillers.
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... I’m also aware of corporate America’s long history of doing stupid shit now because the downside won’t rear up until long after the quarterly P&L statement has “met shareholder expectations.” And herein lies our problem on so many levels. The quarter to quarter myopia. Sad.
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'bout time we started pumping acid in the ground.
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