What is UCG?

“dicko55

I hope I haven't interrupted your night's sleep.
UCG is no doubt very interesting in the likes of Uzbekistan and the outback of Queensland. Areas, which as I explained in my first post, are miles and miles away from sizeable communities. The UK has one of the highest population densities in the World, and the potential side effects of UCG could affect thousands of people and their homes.
Take subsidence, I'm sure that Welsh homeowners would not want to see the return of that. In the 1960s and 1970s, I was involved in claims against the NCB ( National Coal Board) for mining subsidence claims in the terraces of the South Wales Valleys. I'm familiar with door and window frames dropping as much as 12 inches lower on one side. We've had one mini earthquake up North recently, which has been linked to fracking experiments, so resistance is high.
Possible groundwater contamination. Compared to the vast open spaces of Central Asia, Australia and America, the risks of water contamination are too great to consider. The UK water system is already creaking due to continued poor investment and maintenance. There is no slack in our system.
Finally, the "F" word. I notice in the Wiki write up that the term "hydro fracturing" is mentioned. So "fracking" rears its ugly head again. So, what with my windows and doors being unable to open nor close, my drinking water being unfit to drink, and flames coming out of my water taps, I think I'll give UCG a miss.”

“Stork,

I am writing from Oz, the boat has only just arrived with the newspaper, so sorry for the delay. I gather you must agree with my reponse as you didn't challenge any of my points!”

“dicko55

This story is a month old, and forgotten. You have to keep up.”

“Stork,

I gather you have not researched the subject before writing. I won't go into the pros and cons of fraccing but most UCG methods do not frac the formation, but rather drills two horizontal or one horizontial and one vertical hole allowing communication between the two. Then air or O2 is pumped down to allow incomplete combustion and the CO, H2, CH4 and other products are collected separated and put to their corresponding uses.

Before directional drilling became common, some UCG was fracced, but these days directional drilling is the the norm so no irrational fears of fraccing need to be worried about.

To sum up please do 5 minutes of research before scare mongering

http://tinyurl.com/ydqt8lz
http://tinyurl.com/2et62oq
http://tinyurl.com/8mtbjws”

“The story doesn't mention the "f" word, but I presume this is "fracking".
It works very well in America, and has significantly reduced the price of domestic gas in the country. However, America is a very big country, and most of the "fracking" has been carried out on sites miles and miles away from sizeable communities. There have been instances whereby residents living relatively close to these sites, have had flammable gas coming out of their domestic water taps, but this is rare.
If I lived near a potential "fracking" site, such as the Loughor Estuary, I would be most concerned about the potential damage that might be caused by this process, and would want a bombproof (sorry) guarantee that my property would not be affected.”