Fracking’s Slow-Motion Train Wreck Revealed In New Report

[RiverLover]

Fracking’s Slow-Motion Train Wreck Revealed In New Report
October 27th, 2014 by Tina Casey

"...Athough the report predicts fairly robust activity in the near term, it predicts that tight oil will be far lower than the EIA predicts over its 2040 timeline, absent the discovery of significant new plays.

Here’s a sample of the findings for oil:

Tight oil production from the two top plays, the Bakken and Eagle Ford, will underperform the EIA’s reference case oil recovery by 28% from 2013 to 2040…By 2040, production rates from the Bakken and Eagle Ford will be less than a tenth of that projected by the EIA.

The outlook for shale gas doesn’t look much rosier. Without the discovery of major new shale formations, here’s the projection from the Post Carbon report:

Shale gas production from the top seven plays will underperform the EIA’s reference case forecast by 39% from 2014 to 2040…By 2040, production rates from these plays will be about one-third that of the EIA forecast.

...The new Post Carbon report is focused on the impact that shale play estimates have on US energy policy. Press materials for the report also describe the financial symptoms of a bubble that’s about to pop.

However, we’re more interested in the report’s implications for communities and individual property owners that host fracking or fracking wastewater disposal operations.

Those of you who know your Westerns are familiar with the “ghost town” phenomenon of abandoned mining communities that lost their raison d’être once the mining company pulls out.

In real life, the ghost town effect doesn’t just mean a loss of employment. It can also saddle the community with a toxic environmental legacy that thwarts new economic activity.

http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/27/fracking-slow-motion-train-wreck-revealed-new-report/

Also, see~
http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/10/27/drilling-deeper-post-carbon-institute-fracking-production-numbers