A Study on the Impact of Unconventional (and Conventional) Drilling on Housing Prices in Central Oklahoma

Shale energy development activity may benefit some aspects of a regional economy (such as increased jobs or tax revenue); however, there may also be negative impacts to the local environment, such as noise and underground water contamination. We study the impact of unconventional drilling activity on housing price in an area of the country with a long history of crude oil production. A prospective home buyer may want to avoid a place near sites that have been drilled using unconventional drill technologies such as horizontal fracturing. Adopting a hedonic price model, we estimate the impact of distance to and density of unconventional drilling on housing prices in two central counties in Oklahoma during the period 2001–2016. We also apply a semiparametric approach to deal with the possibility that the relationship between an environmental pollutant source and housing price is nonlinear. The empirical results are consistent in terms of physical housing characteristics and locational aspects in all cases, with drilling activity having only a minimal effect in benchmark models. Further, the semiparametric estimation results support the findings that drilling activity has only limited impacts on local housing prices.

Analysis on Combined Heat and Power and Combined Heat and Power Hybrid Systems for Unconventional Drilling Operations

The United States (U.S.) has experienced a natural gas “boom” due to the development of unconventional shale plays, but well development is energy intensive. Operations use electric drilling rigs typically powered by either three high-horsepower diesel engines (HHPDE) or three dedicated natural gas engines (DNGE) and associated generators. From a first law analysis, HHPDEs peak at about 42% efficient at full load, while DNGE peak at about 30%. Most fuel energy is lost as heat rejected by the exhaust and radiators. Concurrently, during cold seasonsor or in cold regions rigs utilize boilers to provide steam throughout the rig to prevent freezing and provide comfort. Our analysis focused on a combined heat power (CHP) approach to improve the utilization factor (UF) of fossil energy consumed during unconventional drilling operations. Engine activity, boiler fuel consumption, and exhaust gas temperatures were recorded during winter drilling of an entire well in the Marcellus shale. Four characteristic activity cycles were extracted from recorded activity to represent four energy consumption scenarios. Exhaust and jacket water heat exchangers (E-HEX, JW-HEX) were designed and simulated, and results were analyzed in 0-D models for the four case scenarios. A 584-kWh hybrid energy management system (HEMS) was also designed and simulated into the model as another method to reduce fossil energy fuel consumption during well development. HHPDE UF improved on average from 35.7% to 55.7% if only E-HEX were used and improved to 72.7% if JW-HEX were also used. DNGE average UF increased from 19.0% to 34.9% using E-HEX only. HEMS utilization improved UF up to an average of 76.9% and 39.1% for HHPDE CHP and DNGE CHP systems, respectively.

Partitioning of naturally-occurring radionuclides (NORM) in Marcellus Shale produced fluids influenced by chemical matrix

Naturally-occurring radioactive materials (NORM) associated with unconventional drilling produced fluids from the Marcellus Shale have raised environmental concerns.