American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015 - 137

Statewide Patterns
That fracturing accounts for a minimal
amount of total water withdrawals holds
true at the state level, even in the more arid
climate and high extraction state of Texas.
A report by the University of Texas'
Bureau of Economic Geology (and cited
by GAO) finds, "The large number of hydraulically fractured wells in Texas and
high water use per well create the perception
of large rates of water use. However,
water use for shale-gas production is relatively minor (less than 1 percent) when
compared with that used for mostly consumptive irrigation (56 percent) and municipal water use (26 percent) in Texas."
Low comparative water use for fracturing is the reality in other states as
well. In Colorado, for example, a joint
report found that only 0.08 percent of
the state's water was used for hydraulic
fracturing in 2010.
And in California, which is suffering
from severe drought, water use in fracturing is negligible. Anti-fracturing groups
have pointed to a July report by Reuters
that claimed fracturing operations used
70 million gallons of water in 2014, but
that was barely a drop in the bucket compared with the 35 billion gallons of freshwater a day withdrawn in California in
2010, as reported by a 2014 USGS study.
In conjunction with technological development, increased water management
strategies such as reuse and recycling of
produced water, or the use of more brackish
water that is too salty for human consumption, further decrease the amount of
freshwater used in fracturing. Companies
are even helping drought stricken farmers
in California by providing them with
almost 8 billion gallons of water last year.
Natural Gas Power
The second half of the GAO report focuses on water used to produce electricity.
It shows that natural gas power plants not
only are among the lowest water users,
but also are a good option for helping to
conserve water in drier regions.
GAO writes, "As with the type of
cooling system, there are differences in
the share of electricity generated by fuel
type in the least-water-stressed regions
versus the most-water-stressed regions.
Generally, coal-fired generating units are
more prevalent in areas with the least
water stress, and they consume more
water per unit of electricity produced, on
average, than do gas-fired units. In other
words, greater reliance on natural gas in
the most-water-stressed regions contributes
to less water use in those regions."
The report continues, "According to
USGS, a decrease in coal use and an in-

crease in natural gas use, coupled with
new power plants that use more waterefficient cooling technologies, has helped
reduce water withdrawal levels for thermoelectric power plants from 2005 to
2010, the latest year for which USGS reported water use estimates. On average,
both water withdrawals and water consumption for electricity generated from
natural gas in 2008 were considerably
lower per unit of electricity generated
than they were for electricity generated
from coal or nuclear power."

This GAO report again confirms that
natural gas-both its development and
use-is not a major consumer of water.
Not only does fracturing use a relatively
insignificant amount of water each year,
but new technologies and water management strategies are helping to further reduce freshwater usage.
Additionally, natural gas-fired electricity
results in considerably less water consumption as compared with other conventional fuel sources, making natural gas
an economical and responsible choice. ❒

Nonpartisan Group Unveils Map
Showing Anti-Fracturing Efforts
DALLAS-Campaigns to ban hydraulic
fracturing too often are based on questionable research, and are progressively
choking development exchange for illusory
benefit, the National Center for Policy
Analysis asserts.
NCPA, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public
policy research organization, reports it has
launched a map that tracks fracturing bans
and other government actions hostile to
the well stimulation technique. The ongoing
project tracks the status of federal, state
and local efforts to restrict fracturing.
"Fracturing bans and prohibitive fracturing regulations are a threat to this
country's economic recovery and superpower status," says Jacki Pick, NCPA
executive vice president and chief oper-

ating officer. "Enhanced energy production
through fracturing can help the United
States revive its economy with unprecedented growth, greatly reduce the national
debt and trade deficit, and ensure that we
maintain our influence on the world
stage."
While many Americans have heard
of isolated anti-fracture campaigns, Pick
says few are aware of the hundreds of
successful anti-fracturing efforts mounted
across the United States. She adds NCPA's
map gives a comprehensive view of that
activism and the full breadth of the threat
it poses to the nation's economy and national security (Figure 1).
More information is available at
http://www.ncpa.org/fracmap.
r

FIGURE 1
State Hydraulic Fracturing Bans, Restrictions and Hostile Resolutions

Statewide Fracturing Bans
Proposed Statewide Fracturing Bans
Federal Lands - Fracturing Heavily Restricted
State Laws Hostile Toward Fracturing
Local Efforts to Restrict Fracturing Pre-empted by State Law
# Local Restrictions and Bans
*Information current as of August 28, 2015

NOVEMBER 2015 137
American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2015

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