Unconventional natural gas development and public health. Regulation of shale gas development, including hydraulic fracturing prepared by. Texas rrc modern shale gas development in the united states. Arent3 h orizontal drilling and multistage hydraulic fracturing technologies have enabled the rapid expansion of natural gas production from organicrich shale formations around the world. However, to the best of our knowledge, it has not been addressed before in the literature. The eastern gas shales project, a series of publicprivate shale drilling demonstration projects in the 1970s. This section provides an overview of the planning process and information about shale gas exploration. Oct 05, 2015 the development of unconventional natural gas has been a game changer for the united states by significantly increasing domestic supply and lowering gas prices. The role of shale gas development in the global methane. An adsorbed gas estimation model for shale gas reservoirs via statistical learning yuntian chen,a,1 su jiang,b,1 dongxiao zhang,a, and chaoyang liuc a ere and bicesat, college of engineering, peking university, no. In this regard, important developments have occurred in the united states of america since the mid2000s. Shale gas formations are unconventional reservoirs i.
However, the rapid expansion of ungd has also raised concerns about its potential impacts on public health. The potential economic benefits from both the drilling activities and the lease and royalty payments compete with the publics. Jacquet assistant professor of sociology and rural studies south dakota state university jeffrey. The latter has in fact long been known and used in the oil industry.
Petrophysical analysis of sylhet gas field using well logs. The plant design included some of the worlds largest amine treating and sulfur recovery units. Risks and risk governance in shale gas development is the summary of two workshops convened in may and august 20 by the national research councils board on environmental change and society to consider and assess claims about the levels and types of risk posed by shale gas development and about the adequacy of existing governance procedures. In may 2019, shell started production at appomattox, a deepwater oil and gas development that is shell s largest floating platform in the gulf of mexico. Resource estimates have been made for several member states usde 2011. Shale gas is currently being explored in europe as an alternative energy source to conventional oil and gas. The regulation of shale gas is an evolving landscape as the industry has developed so.
If an expansion of the unconventional gas industry takes place in new brunswick, government needs to. One reason for this may be the role that shalegas development plays. The role of shale gas development in the global methane cycle. Natural gas may improve air quality in some locations over coal and may lower. This practice, commonly referred to as fracking, involves several practices that have complex and uncertain consequences. Optimization strategies for shale gas asset development. Take a look inside some of our major projects to see how human ingenuity pushes technical boundaries to safely and efficiently deliver energy, helping to meet rising global demand.
There are few incentives for developing shale gas, and unclear exploitation rights where site boundaries conflict with conventional oil and gas operators. Brown is an economist at the federal reserve bank of kansas city. Permeability refers to the capacity of a porous, sediment, soil or rock in this case to transmit a fluid. The strong rise in gas production has indeed led to a fall in prices and the decoupling of the price of gas from oil. However, while the regulatory controls on produced waters and mine waters differ it is useful to compare the two as they are derived from the. Now, with the technology that allows development of unconventional gas, development of the eagle ford formation is an attractive objective. Committee stac convened an expert workshop to investigate the environmental effects of shale gas development in the chesapeake bay watershed. Risks and risk governance in shale gas development. View enhanced pdf access article on wiley online library html view download pdf for offline viewing. After the drake oil well in 1859, however, shale gas production was overshadowed by much larger volumes produced from conventional gas reservoirs. Surma1 and the sidetracked well surma 1a were drilled in 1989 to appraise the oil discovery.
History of shale gas development policy 3 a transition from coal to natural gas for electrical production and transportation purposes will slow human impact on greenhouse gas rates, but will not prevent significant global warming epa, clean energy, 20. It also presents a summary of regulations applicable to the natural gas production industry, and details the environmental considerations related to shale gas development. Risks to communities from shale gas development national research council workshop on risks from shale gas development may 3031st 20 washington, dc by. Shale gas development in the united states intechopen. The development of this resource has generated interest in expanding ng usage in such areas as electricity generation and transportation. Pdf impact of shale gas development on regional water quality. This volume of frozen heat examines the current state of knowledge about the distribution and availability of gas hy drates, the status of recovery technology, the potential environmental impacts of gas hydrate development, and the potential role of methane from gas hydrates in a future energy system. Development of shale gas resources is a largescale industrial process that involves drilling tens of thousands of wells, carrying out hundreds of thousands of hydraulic fracturing operations, and building numerous roads and pipelines.
While the united states is a current leader in shale exploration, many other regions are beginning to develop their own natural gas due to the huge economic potential, including a localized source of energy and job growth. Shale gas exploration and production key issues and. Due to the low permeability of shale, alternative technologies are applied to increase the recovery rate of the gas. The potential economic and energy security opportunities of a medium to large shale gas resource could be substantial for south africa. This contrasts with a conventional gas reservoir produced from sands and carbonates such as.
Evolution of historical shale gas production costs in north america. Environmental considerations of shale gas development. Soeder and others published shale gas development in the united states find, read and cite all the. Impact of shale gas development on regional water quality. Technology, environmental implications, and economics climate change policy partnership 3 abstract increasing demand for natural gas and high natural gas prices in the recent past has led many to pursue unconventional methods of natural gas.
The author wishes to thank jeremy weber of the usda economic research service for assistance with collection of natural gas data. With these changes have come questions about the nature of shale gas development, the potential environmental impacts, and the ability of the current regulatory structure to deal with. The need for an sea vision, mission and objectives sea details. As the local minerals planning authority, nottinghamshire county council is responsible for deciding planning applications that involve shale gas extraction, using hydraulic fracturing, more widely known as fracking. The scale of the potential for shale gas extraction in the. The impact of the development of shale gas in the united. New insights from c and 14c data bob howarth the david r. With limited infrastructure pipelines, lng plants or other infrastructure, remote locations of reserves, and a relatively high cost of extraction, shale gas development in australia is. Limiting the environmental impacts of shale gas development. In addition to the complex physics typically associated with shale plays, eld development optimization can be a challenging problem itself when binary, integer and continuous variables are concurrently present. In the past, the oil and gas industry considered gas locked in tight, impermeable shale uneconomical to produce.
During his opening remarks, he characterized shale gas development as an unregulated free for all, and claimed that the industry is. Chapter 10 oil and gas exploration and development agreements. Scientific assessment of shale gas development in south africa. An adsorbed gas estimation model for shale gas reservoirs. With the recent boom in us shale gas production, optimal development of these assets has become a topic of signi cant interest. However, there is a downside that must be considered, including potential harms to the environment, human and animal health and the worlds climate. While many examples and practices are drawn from experience in the us, this note is intended to be relevant to a global audience. Regulation of shale gas development, including hydraulic fracturing. The growth of unconventional shale gas development has been accompanied by controversy over its environmental and social impacts. There is increasing interest in the development of shale gas as a potential energy source in europe.
Shale gas development energy science, engineering and. Oil and gas production handbook an introduction to oil and gas production, transport, refining and petrochemical industry havard devold. All has been at the forefront of issues that are facing the global community including peak oil, gas and coal, global population impacts, greenhouse gases, carbon and climate change, alternative energies and sustainability solutions and. Natural gas vehicle technology forum brookhaven national laboratory upton, new york. For instance, drilling multiple wells from a single pad allows operators to reach a larger the impacts of shale gas development on land, air. Comprehensive environmental impacts and optimization of. Shale gas development energy science, engineering and technology katelyn m. A global resource producing commercial quantities of natural gas from organicrich shales was uncommon a decade ago. The opportunities and challenges of sustainable shale gas development1 mark d.
This primer on modern shale gas development in the united states was commissioned through the ground water protection council gwpc. Production of natural gas from shale in local economies. In this study, we focussed on the potential impacts on regional water resources within the baltic basin in poland, both in. Pdf the economics of shale gas development researchgate. Natural gas basics natural gas is a mixture of light. The notice for open tenders for the first four packages was issued in may 2009. Shale gas development nottinghamshire county council.
It is anticipated that shale gas will provide the largest source of growth in the u. Gas shale formations are organicrich shale formations that were previously regarded only as source rocks and seals for gas accumulating in the strata near sandstone and carbonate reservoirs of traditional onshore gas development. Pdf shale gas development in the united states researchgate. Strategic planning, design and development of the shale gas. Hannah wiseman and francis gradijan 1 center for global energy, international arbitration and environmental law university of texas school of law initial funding from the energy institute, the university of texas at austin january 20, 2012 updated june 15, 2012. This paper responds to these needs by describing the importance of shale gas in meeting the future energy needs of the united states u. Department of energy doe announces the release of modern shale gas development in the united states. Jul 23, 20 shale oil and gas development is heavily regulated.
Krupnick, senior fellow and codirector, center for energy and climate economics. Reducing the surface impact of shale gas development is not only environmentally beneficial but is also in the economic interest of operators, and is a significant focus of technology development. We describe the economic benefits of the shale gas boom, including direct market. Shale gas reservoir development strategies using complex. Because shale gas development in the united states is occurring in areas that have not previously experienced oil and gas production, the gwpc has recognized a need for credible, factual information on shale gas resources, technologies for developing these resources, the regulatory framework under which. This period has been mainly referred to as the shale gas boom or revolution and the growth of natural gas production in the united states through shale gas extraction has led. Only about 17% of the complaints led the regulators to implicate either unconventional or conventional oil gas development. Spatiallyresolved assessment of land and water use scenarios for. Shale gas development is entirely dependent on favourable geological conditions,1.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which large quantities of fracturing. These requirements are the same for conventional and unconventional oil and gas development. All consulting is a full service professional services firm specializing in energy, water management, earth science, planning, engineering and technology. Irgc has applied its experience with risk governance to unconventional gas development, with the intent to help politicians, regulators, and private sector decisionmakers better understand how these governance deficiencies arise and how they can be minimised. Shale gas and oil exploration and planning the exploration of shale gas and oil, and hydraulic fracturing or fracking as it has become commonly known is a huge issue for councils and communities across the country. Comprehensive environmental impacts and optimization of onshore shale gas development and delivery. Success in the barnett shale of central texas, usa, launched a new way of thinking about shale source rocks. In the module, three scientific concepts are explored in order to elucidate how science is applied toward addressing realworld. It is an effort to provide sound technical information on and additional insight into the relationship between todays fastest growing, and sometimes controversial, natural gas resource development activity, and environmental protection, especially water. Fluor led conceptual development and frontend design and is program management consultant for engineering, procurement, and construction epc. Natural gas production from shale formations finegrained sedimentary rocks with relatively low permeability that can be rich sources of petroleum and natural gas is one of the most rapidlygrowing trends in u.
Havard devold oil and gas production handbook an introduction. The shah sour gas field was developed in ten main packages, focusing primarily on the development of wells and gathering systems, and the construction of a gas sweetening and treatment facility in shah. Oil and gas development on federal lands must comply with applicable federal environmental and state laws, as well as additional requirements. China national petroleum corporation, chinas natural gas demand and cnpcs natural gas. The shah gas development project was developed to gather and process very sour gas. Water resource impacts during unconventional shale gas.
Gas development shale gas extraction has become viable because of advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The first commercial gas well drilled in the us, in 1821 in fredonia, new york, was a shale gas well producing from the devonian fredonia shale formation. A study of shale gas production and its supply chain by yuwen yang bachelor of engineering, beihang university, beijing, 20 submitted to the graduate faculty of swanson school of engineering in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science in industrial engineering university of pittsburgh 2016. Pdf in the past decade, innovations in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling have fueled a boom in the production of natural gas as well. In summary, federal investments and involvement in the development of shale gas extraction technologies spanned three decades and were comprised of. Shale gas is currently estimated to account for approximately twentyfive percent of domestic natural gas production. Shale gas primer master whole body department of energy. The natural gas transmission and distribution module ngtdm, a component of the u. Unconventional natural gas development ungd using highvolume horizontal hydraulic fracturing fracking has vastly increased the potential for domestic natural gas production in recent years. The antrim and new albany plays have typically produced water and gas. The shales development is a subject of controversy, however. Despite investing in unconventional blocks to boost production, shale gas development is still in its infancy, and the country will need to import gas for the next 510 years.
Unless proper controls are put in place there is a risk of spoiling any benefits from economic gains through adverse health outcomes. It identifies and compares the environmental laws and regulations that apply to most stages of the oil or gas development process in shales and tight sands, from conducting seismic testing to constructing a well pad, drilling, withdrawing water, completing a hydraulic. Neutron log neutron logs are porosity logs that measure the hydrogen concentration in a formation. Impact of shale gas development on water resources. The economics of shale gas development resources for the future. Shale gas development and respiratory health by sarah allison grajdura thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of master of science in agricultural and applied economics in the graduate college of the university of illinois at urbanachampaign, 2016 urbana, illinois masters committee. Frozen heat home sustainable development knowledge platform. Shale gas development in the united states, advances in natural gas technology, hamid a.
The raw gas extracted from shale formations is transportedfrom wellbores to processing plants through pipelines. Development opportunities and challenges, author zoback, mark d. However, advances in directional well drilling and reservoir stimulation have dramatically increased gas production from unconventional shales. Shale gas development challenges department of energy. A master thesis work had been conducted at pmre, buet on reservoir simulation using production. Addressing the environmental risks from shale gas development. Regulation of shale gas development, including hydraulic. The main difference between tight gas and shale gas, however, is that tight gas can be found in low permeability sedimentary rocks, such as sandstones, while shale gas rocks are usually impermeable 2 royal dutch shell plc. Shale gas development energy science, engineering and technology. Some degree of impact is unavoidable if the gas resource is to be produced not universally applicable what works in texas may be totally inappropriate ofr new york not onesizefitsall multiple bmp options may address the same basic concern from different approaches or under different circumstances.
This module has been developed around the topic of the extraction of natural gas from shale. The discovery of natural gas in shale reserves has transformed the global energy sector into a booming business. Unconventional natural gas development and human health. Chief medical officer of healths recommendations concerning. Natural gas markets and global gas resources organization for economic cooperation and development oecd richard newell, administrator june 21, 2011 paris, france. Scientific assessment of shale gas development in south africa presentation to portfolio committee on science and technology, parliament, cape town 01 november 2017 zanele tshwete, greg schreiner, paul lochner. Sylhet7 was drilled in 1986 as a gas development well but turned out to be the first oil discovery well. The techniques used there were applied to other north american basins where conditions were favorable for. Energy information administration s eias national energy modeling system nems, is currently undergoing a redesign. Welcome to the official website for the strategic environmental assessment sea for shale gas development in south africa. Surma1 and the sidetracked well surma 1a were drilled in 1989 to appraise the oil discovery 5. In some cases, this fast expansion has resulted in natural gas drilling and. Our analysis suggests that while shale gas development poses significant risks to the environment, including faulty well construction, blowouts, and aboveground contamination due to leaks and spills of fracturing fluids and waste water, technologies and best practices exist that can help manage these risks. Getting the boom without the bust environmental law institute.
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