Land‐use and ecosystem services costs of unconventional US oil and gas development

Abstract

The rapid expansion of unconventional oil and gas development in the US has been controversial because of numerous environmental and social issues, including the conversion, fragmentation, and degradation of natural habitats. Here we describe land‐use impacts and ecosystem services costs of recent energy development in the eight major unconventional oil and gas production regions of the US. From 2004 to 2015, more than 200,000 hectares of land were developed or modified. By 2015, the estimated annual ecosystem services costs of this habitat change had risen to US$272 million, which resulted in a cumulative total of almost US$1.4 billion. These costs were concentrated in deciduous forests and grasslands/pastures. Depending on future well‐drilling rates, cumulative ecosystem services costs projected to the year 2040 range from US$9.4 billion to US$31.9 billion. These environmental and economic impacts should be considered when governments perform cost–benefit analyses and create regulatory oversight.

Impact of the Bakken/Three Forks unconventional oil and gas development on natural habitats in North Dakota

“…Because unconventional oil and gas development began in 2006 in this region (Moran et al, ; Preston & Kim, ), we chose to measure land‐use patterns on satellite imagery from 2005 for our predevelopment conditions. We used the ruler tool in Google Earth Pro™ to measure the boundary of each specific tract of land.…”

“…To determine how the public land development compared with overall development in the Bakken/Three Forks region of North Dakota, we accessed the raw data of land‐use impact per well from a previous study (Moran et al, ) that used the same measurement methods as this study to estimate overall amount of land converted from natural or seminatural habitats into human structures. These measurements were calculated on a per well basis.…”

“…Unconventional oil and gas development has expanded rapidly in the USA in the last 15 years (Energy Information Administration [EIA], ; EIA, ). This approach to extracting fossil fuels uses the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques (known as ‘fracking’) to extract oil and gas from low permeability geological formations, which are often referred to as ‘tight oil and gas’ (Moran, Taylor, Mullins, Sardar, & McClung, ; Preston & Kim, ; Reinsalu & Aarna, ). Some authors have concluded that this change in the fossil fuel industry practice has initiated a new ‘era in the American oil industry’ (Brown, ).…”

“…These concerns include water and air pollution, negative public health effects, noise and light pollution, increased seismic activity (via wastewater injection wells), increases in greenhouse gas emissions, and general quality of life issues (Bartik, Currie, Greenstone, & Knittel, ; Ellsworth, ; Jackson et al, ; Rosenberg, Phartiyal, Goldman, & Branscomb, ; Shonkoff, Hays, & Finkel, ). This energy trend has developed or modified substantial amounts of natural habitat across many parts of North America (Donnelly, Wilson, & Appiah, ; Drohan, Brittingham, Bishop, & Yoder, ; Jones, Pejchar, & Kiesecker, ; Moran et al, ; Trainor, McDonald, & Fargione, ), which likely has impacts on wildlife (Schneider, Stelfox, Boutin, & Wasel, ; McDonald, Fargione, Kiesecker, Miller, & Powell, ; Kalyn Bogard & Davis, ; Ludlow, Brigham, & Davis, ), ecosystem function (Jones & Pejchar, ), and ecosystem services (Allred et al, ; Jones et al, ; Moran et al, ).…”

“…2014; Rosenberg, Phartiyal, Goldman, & Branscomb, 2014;Shonkoff, Hays, & Finkel, 2013). This energy trend has developed or modified substantial amounts of natural habitat across many parts of North America (Donnelly, Wilson, & Appiah, 2017;Drohan, Brittingham, Bishop, & Yoder, 2012;Jones, Pejchar, & Kiesecker, 2015;Moran et al, 2017;Trainor, McDonald, & Fargione, 2016), which likely has impacts on wildlife (Schneider, Stelfox, Boutin, & Wasel, 2003;McDonald, Fargione, Kiesecker, Miller, & Powell, 2009;Kalyn Bogard & Davis, 2014;Ludlow, Brigham, & Davis, 2015), ecosystem function (Jones & Pejchar, 2013), and ecosystem services (Allred et al, 2015;Jones et al, 2015;Moran et al, 2017).…”