Shale gas wells could leak and contaminate water supplies, report warns

Blow to Government attempts to increase public support for fracking as report by academics from British Geological Survey and Durham University warns that wells could leak

The report is a blow to the Government, which wants to encourage fracking for shale gas and has insisted that the controversial process is safe. Photo: Reuters

By Emily Gosden, Energy Editor

7:00AM GMT 25 Mar 2014

Shale gas exploration could lead to water contamination because wells may leak underground, a study backed by the British Geological Survey has warned.

More than six per cent of wells in a major shale exploration region in Pennsylvania have reported some kind of leak, analysis by independent academic group Researching Fracking in Europe (ReFINE) found.

The scale of leakage from existing oil and gas wells in the UK may be underestimated because of a lack of data and monitoring, according to the report by academics from the BGS, Durham University and Duke University.

The finding is a blow to the Government, which wants to encourage fracking for shale gas in an attempt to lower energy bills and has insisted that the controversial process is safe.

Professor Richard Davies of Durham University, one of the report’s authors, told the Telegraph: “It is a small risk that a well leaks and this has been proven in the United States.” Read more...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/energy/fracking/10720253/Shale-gas-wells-could-leak-and-contaminate-water-supplies-report-warns.html