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Energy
Hydraulic Fracturing:
Unlocking America’s Natural Gas Resources
Shale Gas Plays, Lower 48 States Although we’ve known for many years
that natural gas was trapped in hard dense
deposits of shale formed from ancient
sea basins millions of years ago, we did
Devonian (Ohio) not have the technology to access these
Cody Marcellus
Gammon Utica resources economically until recently.
Hilliard- As a result, previously uneconomic
Baxter-
Mancos
Antrim natural gas resources are now available
for exploration and development.
Mancos
Pumper Treater
Manifold Proppant
Blender
Control
Center
Fluid
Storage
Bleed Line Low Pressure Slurry Tanks
High Pressure Slurry
Source: U.S. Department of Energy.
Timeline and Impacts for Shale Gas Development and Production – Single Well
The process of bringing a well to completion
70-100 Days 20-40 Years is generally short-lived, taking a few
months for a single well, after which the
well can be in production for 20 to 40
Site Preparation, Drilling, Fracking Production years. The process for a single horizontal
well typically includes four to eight
• Land disturbance • Reduction in air pollution
weeks to prepare the site for drilling,
• Dust • Reduction in GHG emissions
• Noise four or five weeks of rig work, including
• Water management and disposal casing and cementing and moving all
• Diesel exhaust
• Water management and disposal • Site restoration associated auxiliary equipment off the
well site before fracturing operations
commence, and two to five days for the
entire multi-stage fracturing operation.
Water accounts for about 90 percent of Chemicals account for the remaining one
the fracturing mixture and sand accounts half of one percent of the mixture.
for about 9.5 percent.
Typical Shale Fracturing Mixture Makeup Typical Chemical Additives Used in Frac Water
Compound Purpose Common application
Helps dissolve minerals
Acids and initiate fissure in Swimming pool cleaner
rock (pre-fracture)
90%
WATER Allows a delayed
Sodium Chloride breakdown of the gel Table salt
9.5% polymer chains
SAND
Minimizes the friction Water treatment, soil
Polyacrylamide
between fluid and pipe conditioner
0.5%
CHEMICAL Prevents scale deposits Automotive anti-freeze,
ADDITIVES Ethylene Glycol in the pipe deicing agent, household
cleaners
There are several ways oil and natural Spent or used fracturing fluids are
gas companies manage the use of normally recovered at the initial stage of
fracturing fluids, depending on what well production and recycled in a closed
specifically is in them, the presence system for future use or disposed of
of usable groundwater or surface waters, under regulation, either by surface
geography, and local, state, and federal discharge where authorized under the
regulations. Clean Water Act or by injection into
Class II wells as authorized under the
Safe Drinking Water Act. Regulation
may also allow recovered fracturing
fluids to be disposed of at appropriate
commercial facilities.
Studies by the Ground Water Protection When the GWPC studied the environmental
Council (GWPC),6 an association of risk of hydraulic fracturing, they found
state regulators, and the Environmental one complaint in the more than 10,000
Protection Agency (EPA)7 have clearly coalbed methane wells reviewed – an
demonstrated the effectiveness of Alabama well where problems were not
current state regulations in protecting related to fracturing according to the EPA.
water resources.
The EPA initiated its own study of
Example of a completed well coalbed methane hydraulic fracturing
environmental risks and released its
completed study in June 2004. Again,
no significant environmental risks as a
result of proper hydraulic fracturing
were identified.
By the time Congress enacted the SDWA, At no time during these debates was there
hydraulic fracturing had been used for 27 any suggestion that hydraulic fracturing
years with no environmental problems. was considered covered under the UIC
Under the SDWA, states developed waste management requirements.
extensive underground injection control Regardless, litigation in the 1990s and
(UIC) programs to manage liquid wastes subsequent rulings left the federal statutory
and the reinjection of produced waters. and regulatory arenas unsettled with regard
These programs addressed liquids intended to hydraulic fracturing.
to be periodically injected, continuously
injected, and those intended to remain in
underground geologic formations.
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