Shale gas development need to carefully consider environmental issues

Our government recently introduced "Energy development" second five "plan" and "China's Energy Policy (2012)," White Paper will shale gas development as an important direction of energy development, and to give substantial boost. November 5, the Ministry of Finance issued about shale gas development and utilization of subsidy policy notice on the shale gas companies to give a subsidy standard set at 0.4 yuan / cubic meter. It can be predicted that the national efforts to support larger in the coming years will bring a wave of investment in shale gas.
So, whether the development of shale gas can be like the United States to become the future energy supply and promoting an important engine of economic growth, and play to their advantages of lower energy prices and reduce dependence on foreign imports of natural gas?
For answers to these questions depends largely on how we understand the development of shale gas related environmental issues, and how to effectively address these issues.
Environmental problems are mainly due to the unique shale gas development technology and the characteristics of its own resources caused. Shale gas development stage primarily use  Hydraulic fracturing  technology, which requires large amounts of water, while in the process of developing its own will vary with the escape of methane. These problems make the shale gas exploration and development process, we have to face in addition to the conventional oil and gas development, the environmental risks, but also may be exposed to new environmental risks and challenges, specifically including the excessive consumption of water resources, water pollution , air pollution, global warming and other environmental problems.
First, the development of shale gas requires large amounts of water, which is mainly mined by the technical characteristics of the decision. Because shale gas is trapped in dense shale, the hydraulic fracturing technology must be able to collect. Used in hydraulic fracturing the fracturing fluid mainly by high-pressure water, sand and chemical additives, wherein the water content of the sand and 99%. The exploitation of shale gas wells need very much, it is estimated that the average water consumption per shale gas well is 1.5 million cubic meters, so a shale gas exploitation will consume large amounts of water. For dry areas, the development of shale gas resources will exacerbate tensions.
Secondly, the development of shale gas will cause water pollution, causing water security issues. Fracturing fluids include water pollution of groundwater sources and flowback of surface water pollution.  shale gas  fracturing fluid contains chemical additives, in the mining process may also be integrated into methane, shale gas, they will be drilling and fracturing process by inducing geological faults, etc. contaminate groundwater sources. The flowback after fracturing the fracturing fluid in addition to containing chemical additives, there is a certain amount of a hydrocarbon organic matter, heavy metals and water-soluble salts. These flowback difficult to be dealt with all the qualified and unqualified treatment solution when discharged into rivers, they will cause pollution of surface water.
In addition, the development of shale gas will lead to a host of other environmental problems. Shale gas exploration, development and construction of the well site will be on the surface and vegetation damage. Shale gas hydraulic fracturing fluid make savings pool mining footprint is much larger than its land drilling conventional oil and gas reservoirs wellsite.ceramic proppant Shale gas drilling, hydraulic fracturing, well site construction, there are still noise pollution. In addition, the exploitation of shale gas in the United States in some areas also triggered a series of earthquakes, landslides and other geological disasters.
A list of shale gas exploitation environmental problems that may arise, and not on the negation of shale gas development, on the contrary, to recognize these issues and resolve them effectively, our country is important to support the development of shale gas.