In laymans terms it works like this,

Mixtures of sand, air, water and a few chemicals (which are heavily regulated and monitored) are sent into the ground into a coal seam. The water pressure forces open the cleats in the coal where the gas is stored. Heavily compacted sand is forced in to the cleats to plug the gap where the gas has been extracted from. The gas is pumped back up the borehole and through to a compressor station where it is filtered, dewatered, bottled and sold for use.

This stuff about quakes is nonsense. Occasionally you get movement in the coal seam where the sand moves from the fractured coal but the bedrock surrounding the coal is solid enough to prevent any major disturbance. At most you may get minor seismic activity but certainly not quakes.

Posted By: I Am Hoot, Dec 13, 10:01:25