US Regulator Says Shale Gas Drilling Methods Safe

Pennsylvania’s chief environmental regulator said on Friday he saw no evidence that the shale gas drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing contaminates underground water supplies with chemicals.

“It’s our experience in Pennsylvania that we have not had one case in which the fluids used to break off the gas from 5,000 to 8,000 feet (1,500-2,400 m) underground have returned to contaminate ground water,” said John Hanger.

Hanger told Reuters that officials have found cases of water contamination caused by spills and leaks of drilling materials on the surface of so-called “fracking” operations during Pennsylvania’s drilling boom.

There have also been cases of water contaminated by the migration of methane from gas wells, he said in an interview.

Energy companies have maintained there has been no proven water contamination from hydraulic fracturing. Hanger said perceived health risks were generally exaggerated.

“There’s a lot of focus in the media and the public on the problems that we have not had,” Hanger said.

Energy companies have been drilling for shale gas in the Marcellus Shale field stretching across parts of Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio and West Virginia. Estimates say the Marcellus holds enough gas to meet U.S. needs for a decade or more.

The Marcellus, which underlies about two-thirds of Pennsylvania and parts of surrounding states, has proved even more productive than optimistic projections, and has proved that it is one of the world’s biggest gas fields, Hanger said.

Since drilling began in 2008, the Marcellus has shown very high volume, very high quality, and some of the lowest costs of any U.S. shale reserve, he said, adding: “It’s no accident that companies from around the world have rushed here.”

In August, Rex Energy Corp. sold Marcellus acreage to a unit of Japan’s Sumitomo Corp , which followed purchases by Mitsui & Co, Norway’s Statoil and India’s Reliance Industries Ltd.

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