West coast drilling halted until 2022
Friday, December 2, 2016
President Barack Obama released a plan for offshore oil drilling in federal waters that bans any new drilling off the coasts of California, Oregon or Washington until after 2022, according to the Monterey Herald.
The recent decision outlines which offshore areas will be open for leasing by oil companies from 2017 to 2022. It also blocked new oil drilling in federal waters off the Atlantic coast and in the hotly contested Arctic Ocean north of Alaska in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas. However, it will allow oil companies to bid for 10 lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and one off the Alaska coast at Cook Inlet, southwest of Anchorage.
For President-elect Donal Trump things just got a little more difficult as he promised to expand offshore oil and gas drilling.
Learn more: Monterey Herald > Obama blocks new oil drilling on Pacific coast
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Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.