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Simulating the Impact of Shale Gas on Groundwater2 min read

by ESD News and Events on March 30, 2015

Hydrocarbon Resources Hydrogeology Department Research Highlight

Source:  Matthew Reagan and Dan Hawkes

Matt_george_jeffHydrocarbon production from unconventional resources and the use of reservoir stimulation techniques, such as hydraulic fracturing, has grown explosively over the last decade. However, concerns have arisen that reservoir stimulation may create significant environmental threats through the creation of permeable pathways connecting the stimulated reservoir with shallower fresh-water aquifers, thus resulting in the contamination of potable groundwater by escaping hydrocarbons or other reservoir fluids.

In a study recently published (March 25, 2015) in Water Resources Research, a team of ESD scientists—including Matthew Reagan, George Moridis (Hydrocarbon Resources Program Head), Noel Keen, and Jeff Johnson—used numerical simulation to investigate potential gas and water transport between a tight-gas reservoir and an overlying fresh-water aquifer following hydraulic fracturing operations. They focused on two general failure scenarios: (1) communication between the reservoir and aquifer via a connecting fracture or fault and (2) communication via a compromised well ( i.e., a deteriorated, preexisting nearby well or an imperfectly completed newer well, including the gas well itself).

Fig1_2They concluded that the key factors driving short-term transport of gas include high permeability for the connecting pathway and the overall volume of the connecting feature—assuming that such connecting features do occur. Production from the reservoir is likely to mitigate release through reduction of available free gas and lowering of reservoir pressure, and cessation of gas production may increase the potential for release. They also found that hydrostatic (not overpressurized) reservoirs are unlikely to act as a continuing source of migrating gas, because gas contained within the newly formed hydraulic fractures is the primary source for potential contamination. Such incidents of gas escape are likely to be limited in duration and scope. Follow-up research will examine overpressured reservoirs, the potential escape of brines from the reservoir, and additional subsurface geometries.

This work was a part of an EPA-funded study, led by George Moridis, to assess the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water resources and to identify the driving factors (geomechanical and transport) that affect the potential, severity, and frequency. This research was funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Hydraulic Fracturing Drinking Water Assessment through Interagency Agreement (DW-89-92235901-C, Stephen Kraemer, EPA Project Officer).

To read the paper, go here»

Citation: Reagan, M.T., G.J. Moridis, N.D. Keen, and J.N. Johnson (2015), Numerical simulation of the environmental impact of hydraulic fracturing of tight/shale gas reservoirs on near surface groundwater: Background, base cases, shallow reservoirs, short-term gas and water transport. Water Resources Research, DOI: 10.1002/2014WR016086.

News & Events

EESA Scientists Investigate How Tropical Soil Microbes Might Respond to Future Droughts2 min read

March 14, 2023

As the most biologically diverse terrestrial ecosystems on Earth, tropical rainforests are just as critical to sustaining environmental and human systems as they are beautiful. Their unique climate with high temperatures, humidity, and precipitation promotes high primary productivity, which offsets high respiration, resulting in these ecosystems being one of the largest carbon sinks on Earth,…

Doubling Protected Lands for Biodiversity Could Require Tradeoffs With Other Land Uses, Study Finds4 min read

March 3, 2023

This article first appeared on lbl.gov. Scientists show how 30% protected land targets may not safeguard biodiversity hotspots and may negatively affect other sectors – and how data and analysis can support effective conservation and land use planning Although more than half the world’s countries have committed to protecting at least 30% of land and oceans…

Six Berkeley Lab Scientists Named AAAS Fellows6 min read

This article first appeared at lbl.gov Six researchers have been elected into the 2022 class of the American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has announced their 2022 Fellows, including six scientists from the Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). This lifetime honor, which follows…

Kenichi Soga named to National Academy of Engineers1 min read

February 23, 2023

Faculty scientist Kenichi Soga was named to the National Academy of Engineering (NA), one of the highest honors that can be achieved as an American engineer. Soga is the Donald H. McLaughlin Chair in Mineral Engineering and a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and has conducted groundbreaking research from infrastructure sensing to…

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