FrackingNatural gas from fracking, coal have similar energy return on investment (EROI)
The value of a fuel’s long-term usefulness and viability is judged through its energy return on investment, that is, the comparison between the eventual fuel and the energy invested to create it. A new study finds that shale gas has a return value which is close to coal.
The value of a fuel’s long-term usefulness and viability is judged through its energy return on investment; the comparison between the eventual fuel and the energy invested to create it. The energy return on investment (EROI) study published in the Journal of Industrial Ecology finds that shale gas has a return value which is close to coal.
A Wiley release reports that in the United States, gas is mined from horizontal, hydraulically fractured wells in the Marcellus Shale of Pennsylvania. The study compares the total input energy with the energy expected to be made available to end users.
The analysis indicates that the EROI ratio of a typical well is likely between 64:1 and 112:1, with a mean of approximately 85:1. This range assumes an estimated ultimate recovery (EUR) of 3.0 billion cubic feet per well. This is similar to the EUR of coal, which falls between 50:1 and 85:1.
— Read more in Michael L. Aucott and Jacqueline M. Melillo, “A Preliminary Energy Return on Investment Analysis of Natural Gas from the Marcellus Shale,” Journal of Industrial Ecology (17 June 2013) (DOI: 10.1111/jiec.12040)
