scholarly journals Comment on “The intensification of the water footprint of hydraulic fracturing”

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (8) ◽  
pp. eaav2110
Author(s):  
Daniel Raimi
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Water Consumption ◽  
Energy Production ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Water Footprint ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
Water Intensity

Kondash et al. provide a valuable contribution to our understanding of water consumption and wastewater production from oil and gas production using hydraulic fracturing. Unfortunately, their claim that the water intensity of energy production using hydraulic fracturing has increased in all regions is incorrect. More comprehensive data show that, while the water intensity of production may have increased in regions such as the Permian basin, it has decreased by 74% in the Marcellus and by 19% in the Eagle Ford region. This error likely stems from an improper method for estimating energy production from wells: The authors use the median well to represent regional production, which systematically underestimates aggregate production volumes. Across all regions, aggregate data suggest that the water intensity of oil and natural gas production using hydraulic fracturing has increased by 19%. There also appears to be an error in estimates for water consumption in the Permian basin.

NOx emissions from U.S. oil and gas production using TROPOMI NO2 and the divergence method

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Dix ◽  
Colby Francoeur ◽  
Brian McDonald ◽  
Raquel Serrano ◽  
Pepijn Veefkind ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Nox Emissions ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Horizontal Drilling ◽  
Surface Measurements ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

<p>The development of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has led to a steep increase in the U.S. production of natural gas and crude oil from shale formations since the mid 2000s. Associated with this industrial activity are emissions of ground-level ozone precursors such as nitrogen oxides (NOx). Satellite data are important in this context, because surface measurements are limited or non-existent in rural regions, where most U.S. oil and gas production operations take place. Here we use TROPOMI NO<sub>2</sub> observations to study NOx emissions coming from oil and natural gas production sites. Applying the divergence method we quantify basin wide emissions from well pad fields and aim to push spatial and temporal resolution of this technique. The divergence was method introduced by Beirle et al. (Science Advances 2019) to quantify point source emissions. It relies on calculating the divergence of the NO<sub>2</sub> flux to derive NOx sources and estimating the NO<sub>2</sub> lifetime to quantify sinks. Our analysis will include an assessment of different methods to constrain the NO<sub>2</sub> lifetime, which becomes particularly important when applying this method to larger areas. Further we will compare our results with bottom-up derived emissions. Here we use the Fuel-based Oil & Gas (FOG) inventory that calculates NOx emissions based on fuel consumption. Initial results show good agreement for the Permian Basin (NM, TX) and we will expand our analysis to other U.S. basins.</p>

scholarly journals Perspectives for use of hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas production

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
pp. 373-378 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Mouallem ◽  
Wilson Trigueiro de Sousa ◽  
Ivo Eyer Cabral ◽  
Adilson Curi
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Environmental Impacts ◽  
Groundwater Level ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Gas Extraction ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
High Productivity ◽  
Oil Exploitation ◽  
The World

Hydraulic fracturing emerges currently, all over the world, as one of the more strategic techniques used by companies in the oil exploitation sector. This technique is characterized by its high productivity and profit in relation to conventional methods of hydrocarbon exploitation. However, in many countries, as is the case of Brazil, there are several divergences considering the employment of this methodology. Many renowned researchers attest that there are several irreversible environmental impacts generated by the use of this methodology. Among the main environmental impacts are the risk of groundwater level contamination, the risk of surface subsidence, and the risk of the environment contamination with fluids used in the process of the oil and gas extraction.

Simultaneous Hydraulic Fracturing Improves Completion Efficiency and Lowers Costs Per Foot

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Russell ◽  
Price Stark ◽  
Sean Owens ◽  
Awais Navaiz ◽  
Russell Lockman
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Fracturing ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Horizontal Wells ◽  
Asset Returns ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Well Performance ◽  
Additional Time ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Single Well ◽  
Lateral Length

Abstract Reducing well costs in unconventional development while maintaining or improving production continues to be important to the success of operators. Generally, the primary drivers for oil and gas production are treatment fluid volume, proppant mass, and the number of stages or intervals along the well. Increasing these variables typically results in increased costs, causing additional time and complexity to complete these larger designs. Simultaneously completing two wells using the same volumes, rates, and number of stages as for any previous single well, allows for more lateral length or volume completed per day. This paper presents the necessary developments and outcomes of a completion technique utilizing a single hydraulic fracturing spread to simultaneously stimulate two or more horizontal wells. The goal of this technique is to increase operational efficiency, lower completion cost, and reduce the time from permitting a well to production of that well—without negatively impacting the primary drivers of well performance. To date this technique has been successfully performed in both the Bakken and Permian basins in more than 200 wells, proving its success can translate to other unconventional fields and operations. Ultimately, over 200 wells were successfully completed simultaneously, resulting in a 45% increase in completion speed and significant decrease in completion costs, while still maintaining equivalent well performance. This type of simultaneous completion scenario continues to be implemented and improved upon to improve asset returns.

Introduction to this special section: Exploration geophysics in China

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (8) ◽  
pp. 596-596
Author(s):  
Yongyi Li ◽  
Xiaogui Miao ◽  
Shoudong Huo ◽  
Jianwei Ma ◽  
Danping Cao
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Special Section ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil Consumption ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
Gas Consumption ◽  
Natural Gas Consumption

China ranks second and third in global oil and natural gas consumption, and fifth and sixth in global oil and natural gas production, respectively ( U.S. EIA, 2018 ). In the past 25 years, China's oil consumption has increased 3.5 times, and natural gas consumption is rising rapidly as well. China is increasing its investment in the petroleum industry, with a goal of significantly expanding domestic oil and gas production. Complex geology, rough surface conditions, and the need to explore deep targets, unconventional resources, and offshore reservoirs pose great challenges to geophysical exploration. Geophysical technologies in China thus have advanced significantly in data acquisition, processing, and interpretation. To demonstrate the development and applications of geophysical technologies in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas resources, we invited academic and industry experts to present recent studies on exploration geophysics in China.

scholarly journals Methane emissions from oil and gas production sites in Alberta, Canada

Elem Sci Anth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Zavala-Araiza ◽  
Scott C. Herndon ◽  
Joseph R. Roscioli ◽  
Tara I. Yacovitch ◽  
Matthew R. Johnson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Airborne Measurement ◽  
Frequent Monitoring ◽  
Light Oil ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

We performed ground-based measurements (downwind, site-wide characterization) of methane emissions from older light oil and natural gas production sites in Alberta, Canada (Red Deer region, 60 measured sites). We developed a distribution of site-based methane emissions and as previously found in production regions in the United States, a small fraction of the sites account for the majority of methane emissions: 20% of the sites emit three quarters of the methane from oil and gas production. Using empirically derived emission factors, we compared an estimate of regional methane emissions, to a top-down airborne-based measurement of the same region. The airborne measurement was 35% lower, though not statistically different (4,800 ± 3,200 vs. 3,100 ± 2,200 kg CH4 h–1). In Alberta, the majority of these oil and gas emissions go unreported under current reporting requirements. Effective mitigation will most likely require frequent monitoring to identify high-emitting sites as well as leaky components that we hypothesize are also a major contributor to emissions.

Satellite-based characterization of methane point sources in the Permian Basin

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Itziar Irakulis-Loitxate ◽  
Luis Guanter ◽  
Yin-Nian Liu ◽  
Daniel J. Varon ◽  
Joannes D. Maasakkers ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oil And Gas ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Point Sources ◽  
Permian Basin ◽  
High Concentration ◽  
Regional Study ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Emission Point

<p>The Permian Basin is known for its extensive oil and gas production, which has increased rapidly in recent years becoming the largest producing basin in the United States. It is also responsible for almost half of the methane emissions from all oil and gas producing regions in the country. Given the urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, it is crucial to identify and characterize the point sources of emissions. To this end, we have combined three new high-resolution hyperspectral sensors data onboard the GF-5, ZY1 and PRIMA satellites to create the first regional study to identify methane sources and measure the emitted quantities from each source. With data collected over several days in 2019 and 2020, we have identified a total of 37 point source emissions with flux rates >500kg/h, that is, a high concentration of extreme emission point sources that account for nearly 40% of the Permian annual emissions. Also, we have found that new infrastructure (post-2018) is responsible for almost 60% of the detected emissions, in many cases (21% of the cases) due to inefficient use of flaring of the gas that they cannot store. With this study, we demonstrate that hyperspectral satellite data are a powerful tool for the detection and quantification of strong methane point emissions.</p>

Attempt to estimate historical methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dieter Franke ◽  
Andreas Bahr ◽  
Johannes Gütschow ◽  
Martin Blumenberg ◽  
Stefan Ladage ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natural Gas ◽  
Oil And Gas ◽  
Petroleum Industry ◽  
Methane Emissions ◽  
Gas Production ◽  
Oil And Gas Production ◽  
Federal Institute ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Natural Oil ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas

<p>The worldwide operating petroleum industry is considered as one of the major contributors to global anthropogenic methane emissions. However, not only absolute numbers of methane emissions from oil and natural gas production and distribution vary greatly in different global inventories, also the relative contribution of the oil and the gas sector is under discussion. In different studies, the majority of methane emissions are assigned either to natural gas or to the oil sector. For the climate emission origins are of course irrelevant, however, for the climate budget of natural gas usage it is important to know which emissions are attributable to natural gas and what number is related to oil production with its associated natural gas.</p><p>Here we use the Federal Institute of Geosciences and Natural Resources’ (BGR) worldwide database on natural oil and gas production and consumption, dating back to 1900, and compare it to global bottom-up methane emission inventories. We will present and discuss several regression approaches that fit the global data reasonably well. In addition, methane emissions of country groups are compared to natural oil and gas production and consumption data. This study finds that the emission factors that relate to gas production released during oil and gas extraction likely vary over the time and across different production areas in the world.</p>

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