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Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Fracking, Filloon, and Investing -- The Bakken, North Dakota, USA

SeekingAlpha.com link here.

I haven't read the article yet, but thought folks might like to see it. Sent to me by Don.

Again, this is not an investment site, see disclaimer at the right.

From the Filloon article:
Stories about possible frack contamination are plentiful. Fracking itself Is very safe. This process is straight forward, as seen in this video from Northern Oil and Gas' website. In drilling, ground water does have contact with the drill bit, and drilling fluid. The casing and cement create a barrier between the well and ground water. If the casing and cement are not properly installed there could be contamination.

There have been instances of the casing and cement failing. This could be a structural problem, or poor installation. A Denbury well near Killdeer, North Dakota reported leaking of its casing. The water system in this area was tested and deemed safe. In November of 2010, Whiting  had a well near New Town, North Dakota that was shut down after a valve failed near the well head. Neither well caused environmental damage.

The story is the same no matter where researched. There are numerous articles written on the possibility of fracking polluting ground water. The problem with this is the word possibility. There is very little to prove this is happening. North Dakota, Texas, and Oklahoma, are the home of thousands of unconventional wells. If we look at all of these wells there is very little to prove the fracking process is environmentally unsound, if done properly. If this technology were flawed, there would be consistent reports of pollution.
I'm no longer worried about EPA and fracking; Teegue says not to worry.

By the way, Filloon says the same thing I do about the availability of water in North Dakota:
The Williston Basin has no shortage as the Missouri River and Lake Sakakawea easily meet demand. Areas like the Eagle Ford in Texas, are much dryer and have had difficulties.

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