BGS Study on Methane in Water

The British Geological Survey is working on a study to establish the background levels of methane present in UK groundwater.

The study, announced in mid-December, will be important evidence of how much methane is present before any shale gas industry begins, so that in the future if shale gas exploration takes off, it will be possible to compare against an initial baseline.

Professor Mike Stephenson, head of energy at the BGS said: "This is a unique survey which will serve as a baseline for all future shale gas activities and ensure that we protect our precious groundwater."

He said: "The survey will establish the background concentrations of methane in groundwater in different hydrogeological settings with an initial focus on those areas identified for future shale gas exploration, starting with the northwest of England."

Stephenson also mentioned that most geologists thought it was a “pretty safe activity” and the risks associated with it were low. He said the distance between groundwater supplies around 40-50 metres below the surface and the deep sources of gas in the shale a mile or two underground, made it unlikely methane would leak into water as a result of fracking. 

“Most geologists are pretty convinced that it is extremely unlikely contamination would occur… There was no evidence in peer-reviewed literature of pollution of water by methane as a result of fracking ” he said.

The BGS said that US evidence showed very high concentrations of methane in groundwater in shale gas areas, but that there was no baseline to compare against from pre-shale gas industry times and that presence of the gas in US water supplies was likely to be natural.