Environmental Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing

The environmental concerns associated with hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas production are outlined. Most environmental concerns are not specific to hydraulic fracturing but are common to all oil and gas activity. Hydraulic fracturing has increased oil and gas activity, however, and thus exacerbated these concerns. The most likely environmental issues include spills and leaks of hydrocarbons or formation waters in the near subsurface and during management at the surface. There are also concerns about the availability of water for hydraulic fracturing in water scarce areas and this could be partially offset by increased reuse of produced water. Increased reuse would simultaneously reduce the potential for seismic activity due to disposal of produced waters through deep well injection. Effective management of these environmental concerns is necessary to achieve the full benefits of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas including greater energy independence and increased supplies of relatively low carbon footprint natural gas.