Fracking Study Finds New Shale Gas Wells Leak More Methane

Defects in fracked oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania are leading to methane leaks in shale wells throughout the state — greenhouse gas emissions that could exacerbate climate change, according to a Cornell University study published Monday.

The study, conducted by a team led by Cornell environmental engineering professor Anthony Ingraffea, analyzed more than 75,000 publicly available state environmental compliance records for about 41,000 oil and gas wells that had been drilled between 2000 and 2012 across Pennsylvania, where the energy industry has been producing natural gas from the Marcellus shale.

Ingraffea’s analysis found that newer oil and gas wells — those that use modern hydraulic fracturing and directional or horizontal drilling techniques to tap shale gas deposits that were previously uneconomic to reach — are more likely to leak methane than older wells drilled using less advanced technology.

Methane leaks come from defects in the cement and steel linings of oil and gas well bores that protrude into the earth sometimes thousands of feet.  Both groundwater contamination and methane leakage into the atmosphere are the result, according to the study.

Fracking Study Finds New Shale Gas Wells Leak More Methane