Natural gas “fracking” boom in South Texas

Natural gas “fracking” boom in South Texas
November 22, 2010 – SAN ANTONIO
There is an energy boom going on right in our own back yard. Drilling companies have discovered how to unlock a vast supply of energy beneath South Texas. But activists, celebrities and even the federal government are concerned about the effects it could have on our air and water. News 4 WOAI Trouble Shooter Jaie Avila investigates the process known as “fracking.”

Avila was given a rare tour of a natural gas rig, one of many that has popped up in South Texas, as energy companies flock here to get access to a source of cleaner energy trapped in the rocks beneath our feet. It could bring hundreds of jobs to our region, but they are using a method that is controversial, and some say, dangerous.

Drilling company Pioneer Resources gave us a close up look at their drilling operation about 50 miles south of San Antonio, in Campbellton. Their rig is drilling down 8,000 feet to reach a kind of rock called shale, that contains natural gas. A massive formation, called the Eagle Ford Shale, runs from the Mexico border, up to just south of San Antonio.

“It might be the largest on-shore oil and natural gas find in the continental U.S. in the last fifty years,” says Justin Furnace with the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owner’s Association.

Up until now the shale was considered… READ MORE.