Chinese Fracking Could Pose Threat to Water Supplies

fracking in China

There are fears that China’s efforts to step up its fracking programme may have repercussions for environmental safety following a report by independent media agency, Caixin. The report cites a governmental white paper from October as evidence that plans are in place for “ramping up the industry and pumping 6.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas from underground shale formations by 2015.”

Some see this as being a positive step. Given that 70% of the country’s energy is currently derived from coal, which produces twice the green house gas emissions of natural gas, fracking has the potential to significantly reduce China’s carbon footprint.

However, the practice has been widely criticised by various environmentalists. Two of the main problems associated with the process are the level of water consumption required for drilling wells, and the attendant risk of contamination that comes with extracting the gas. This is especially relevant given that China is one of the world’s least water-secure countries, with only 6% of the earth’s water resources and 20% of its population. This scarcity problem is compounded by the fact that about 40% of China’s water is so polluted as to be deemed unsafe for drinking by the Ministry of Water Resources.

Caixin reports that, according to a source within the industry, extracting the stated target of 6.5 billion cubic meters of gas would require 13.8 million cubic meters of water. Furthermore, the majority of the shale gas in question is situated in regions already suffering water shortages.

In America, studies conducted by a variety of environmental agencies have argued that the release of methane from shale gas drilling has the potential to contaminate nearby water supplies. However, China’s environmental controls do not cover methane, meaning there would be no legal obligation to take measures to ensure that problems being experienced in America are not replicated.

The government has already begun auctioning off shale gas exploration blocks and, according to The National Geographic, companies such as Shell, BP, ExxonMobil, Chevron and Total are already in discussions with Chinese energy companies regarding the possibility of joint ventures.

Green Steve’s Reaction

Fracking is one of the most contentious issues in the energy debate with countries such as the US ploughing ahead and China seemingly wanting to follow. There is little doubt that it can increase supplies of natural gas in a relatively affordable way.

I am no expert and I’m certainly not going to go into the pros and cons of fracking here but can fracking really lead to water shortages? China already faces a water crisis but 13.8 million cubic metres is a tiny drop in the ocean in a country that currently uses 599 billion cubic metres of water a year – so initial fracking would use 0.0023% of the water supply in China.

Water worries aside, in many ways the human race goes about things in a very strange way. Just take the inefficiencies in oil production that lead to natural gas flaring. According to the World Bank, 140 billion cubic metres of natural gas are lost each year to flaring so why even go near fracking until this loss has been addressed? Surely it would cost a fraction of what fracking will cost?

Can’t the Chinese government and private sector agree contracts with oil companies around the world that suffer from flaring and get their gas that way instead?

One last point – while natural gas is a cleaner burning fossil fuel than coal or oil, it still does not address the need for zero emission energy production (or as close to zero as possible).

Steve (156 Posts)

I am chief writer and editor on Green Steve. Blogging since 2011, I like to delve into a wide number of topics to help people reduce their carbon footprint. You should follow me on Twitter here. And add me to your Google+ circles here.

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