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| The technology is essentially the same for offshore wells, accomplished with boats and equipment modules that can be placed on the drill ship or offshore platform. | | The technology is essentially the same for offshore wells, accomplished with boats and equipment modules that can be placed on the drill ship or offshore platform. |
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− | A hydraulic stimulation project must have all of this equipment linked together to be able to push a slurry of water and sand down a narrow pipe to a depth of one to two miles – and then along a lateral pipe to a distance of possibly more than a mile and a half. The pumps must overcome not only the friction of the water in the pipe, but also the natural pressure of the geologic formation at depth. Thus, many pumps working together are necessary to both overcome friction and squeeze the water and sand mixture into the fractures. | + | A hydraulic stimulation project must have all of this equipment linked together to be able to push a slurry of water and sand down a narrow pipe to a depth of one to two miles – and then along a [[lateral]] pipe to a distance of possibly more than a mile and a half. The pumps must overcome not only the friction of the water in the pipe, but also the natural pressure of the geologic formation at depth. Thus, many pumps working together are necessary to both overcome friction and squeeze the water and sand mixture into the fractures. |
| The horizontal part of the well is stimulated in multiple sections. The stimulation of each section takes a few hours and the entire hydraulic fracturing operation will be spread over two to five days. | | The horizontal part of the well is stimulated in multiple sections. The stimulation of each section takes a few hours and the entire hydraulic fracturing operation will be spread over two to five days. |
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| Global demand for oil and natural gas continues to grow, and will for decades to come. Meeting the needs of the developed and developing world alike will require the petroleum industry to find and produce new oil and natural gas resources. Hydraulic fracturing will help make this possible. | | Global demand for oil and natural gas continues to grow, and will for decades to come. Meeting the needs of the developed and developing world alike will require the petroleum industry to find and produce new oil and natural gas resources. Hydraulic fracturing will help make this possible. |
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| + | ==Annotated bibliography== |
| + | ===Basic Information about the Shale Resource and the Hydraulic Fracturing Processes:=== |
| + | * [http://emd.aapg.org/technical_areas/shalegas_liquids/index.cfm AAPG Energy Minerals Division information on shale resources] |
| + | * [http://energy.gov/fe/shale-gas-101 U.S. Department of Energy, Shale Gas 101] describes what it is, why it is important, and explains environmental challenges associated with its production. |
| + | * [https://fracfocus.org/hydraulic-fracturing-process Hydraulic Fracturing: How it Works], including the process, the site setup and fracturing fluid management, by FracFocus Chemical Registry. |
| + | |
| + | ===Economic Impact of shale development:=== |
| + | * [https://energy.duke.edu/shalepublicfinance Duke University (May 2016) finds that even a year after oil prices collapsed oil and gas development had positive impacts on most local governments that struggled to maintain roads and services during the boom]. |
| + | * [http://www.nber.org/papers/w21624 National Bureau of Economic Research study (October 2105) by Dartmouth professors] focuses on the income and employment consequences of fracking, finding that over a third of fracking revenue stays within the regional economy. |
| + | |
| + | ===Best Practices and Standards:=== |
| + | *[http://www.shalegas.energy.gov/resources/index.html U.S. Secretary of Energy Advisory Board Natural Gas Subcommittee report (2011)] gives best practice recommendations and documents their implementation in the final report. |
| + | ===State and Federal Regulation=== |
| + | * [http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/pdfs/20120417changes.pdf EPA requires “Green Completions” by 2015] |
| + | * [https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/06/10/2013-13708/oil-and-gas-hydraulic-fracturing-on-federal-and-indian-lands Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has proposed hydraulic fracturing rules for federal lands]. Federal courts have blocked enforcement of the rule. |
| + | * BLM released a [https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/02/08/2016-01865/waste-prevention-production-subject-to-royalties-and-resource-conservation proposed rule to reduce venting and flaring] of natural gas in February 2016. The final rule is expected in late 2016. |
| + | * [https://www3.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/methane.html EPA plans to require data on equipment types and methane emissions from all well and facility operators]. The information would be used to apply the May 2016 rule for new sources to existing wells. |
| + | |
| + | ===Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids:=== |
| + | * [http://fracfocus.org/ FracFocus], sponsored by the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and the Ground Water Protection Council, lists chemicals used in over 100,000 wells. |
| + | * Baker Hughes, world’s third largest hydraulic fracturing service provider, has since 2014 provides a complete, public list of chemicals in its hydraulic fracturing fluids. |
| + | |
| + | ===Induced Seismicity:=== |
| + | * U.S. Geological Survey: “[http://earthquake.usgs.gov/research/induced/myths.php What you do and don’t know about induced seismicity]" & [http://www.usgs.gov/faq/taxonomy/term/9833 U.S. Geological Survey frequently asked questions about earthquakes caused by wastewater injection]. |
| + | * New U.S. Geological Survey “New Hazard Model for Induced Earthquakes” maps risk of damage from earthquakes (April 2016). |
| + | * [http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=13355 U.S. National Research Council study on induced seismicity] (2013) (the PDF is free to download) |
| + | * The StatesFirst Induced Seismicity Work Group released its report (October 2015), “[http://www.statesfirstinitiative.org/#!induced-seismicity-work-group/cwed Potential Injection-Induced Seismicity Associated with Oil & Gas Development: A Primer on Technical and Regulatory Considerations Informing Risk Management and Mitigation].” StatesFirst is an initiative of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) and the Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC). |
| + | * “[http://advances.sciencemag.org/content/1/5/e1500195 Oklahoma’s recent earthquakes and saltwater disposal]”: F. Rall Walsh III* and Mark D. Zoback (2015, Science Advances). Saltwater disposal is predominantly produced water, not hydraulic fracturing flow-back. |
| + | * Kansas Geological Survey monitoring and mitigation of earthquakes related to saltwater disposal, [http://www.kgs.ku.edu/PRS/Seismicity/2016/01-20-16_Legislative_Testimony_Seismicity.pdf report to the state legislature, January 2016]. |
| + | |
| + | ===Water Use for Hydraulic Fracturing=== |
| + | * [http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es502506v Comparison of Water Use for Hydraulic Fracturing for Unconventional Oil and Gas versus Conventional Oil], B.R. Scanlon and others, 2014, Environ. Sci. Technol. |
| + | |
| + | ===Methane in Aquifers:=== |
| + | * EPA draft assessment of the potential impacts of oil and gas hydraulic fracturing activities on the quality and quantity of drinking water resources in the United States released in June 2015. [http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy/executive-summary-hydraulic-fracturing-study-draft-assessment-2015 Read executive summary or full report]. |
| + | ** Science Advisory Board Hydraulic Fracturing Research Advisory Panel documentation of its public meetings and peer review is [https://yosemite.epa.gov/sab/sabproduct.nsf/fedrgstr_activites/HF%20Drinking%20Water%20Assessment!OpenDocument&TableRow=2.2#2. here]. |
| + | * Methane and other gases occur in shallow aquifers and formations above the Marcellus, and predate Marcellus drilling: ”[http://archives.datapages.com/data/bulletns/2014/02feb/BLTN12178/BLTN12178.HTM A geochemical context for stray gas investigations in the northern Appalachian Basin: Implications of analyses of natural gases from Neogene-through Devonian-age strata]”, Fred J. Baldassare, AAPG Bull. V. 98, No. 2 (February 2014), P. 341–372. |
| + | * Methane found in water wells in the Denver-Julesburg basin, Colorado, is mostly microbially generated in shallow coal seams. About 0.06 to 0.15 percent of wells leaked thermogenic methane due to inadequate surface casing, casing leaks or wellhead-seal leaks ([http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/07/05/1523267113.full.pdf Owen Sherwood and others, 2016]). |
| + | |
| + | ===Methane Air Emissions: there is significant variation in measured, estimated or modeled values:=== |
| + | * National Energy Technology Lab: [http://www.netl.doe.gov/research/energy-analysis/life-cycle-analysis/lca-listing?prog=presentation Life Cycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions]: Natural Gas and Power Production presentation to EIA June 2015 Energy Conference. |
| + | * [http://www3.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/usinventoryreport.html EPA National Inventory] shows that 2013 methane emissions from natural as systems declined 12 percent from 2005, while production increased about 28 percent over the same period. |
| + | * [http://pubs.acs.org/journal/esthag Barnett Coordinated Measurement Campaign], seven articles in the July 7, 2015, Environ. Sci. Technol. v. 49, issue 13, document airborne measurements over the Barnett shale production region in Texas and the small number of “super emitters”. |
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| + | ===Traffic, Trucking Best Practices:=== |
| + | * [http://issuu.com/consumerenergyalliance/docs/trucking_safety_task_force/1 The American Petroleum Institute], the American Trucking Associations and the National Tank Truck Carriers have collected nearly two dozen recommendations for roadway safety and more considerate driving practices. |