How long will it last?
July 18, 2011 By: Pit & Quarry StaffLook up “Hydraulic Fracturing” on Wikipedia, and be prepared to do a lot of reading. The controversial practice involves the use of water, chemicals and sand (high in silica content) to aid in the extraction of natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – has created a huge demand for “frac sand,” and has been a boon to some aggregate producers who have seen the value of their product increase manyfold.
T. Boone Pickens has jumped on the natural gas bandwagon, too. Remember him? Pickens is the former oil tycoon who was all over the airwaves a while back promoting the idea of wind power. He envisioned making America the Saudi Arabia of wind, and I even wrote an editorial about it.
A couple months ago, I attended a talk by Pickens in which he discussed the exploration of natural gas in the United States. Pickens spoke for at least an hour, and I don’t recall him even mentioning wind power. He is now all about natural gas.
What Pickens didn’t say was anything about the controversy surrounding the process. I don’t even think he used the terms “hydraulic fracturing” or “fracking.” He hardly mentioned the process at all.
The problem is that chemicals used in the fracking process may be contaminating the environment and people’s ground water. The Environmental Protection Agency announced June 23 that it would examine claims of water pollution related to hydraulic fracturing in Texas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Louisiana. It’s a big controversy, and you’ve probably heard about it.
In the meantime, some aggregate producers are cashing in on the demand for frac sand, and that demand will likely continue – at least in the short term. However, given the potential environmental concerns the hydraulic fracturing process creates, future regulations could make the process more costly and less appealing. – Darren Constantino
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