Patterns in benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages in an active region of unconventional shale-gas development in the western Appalachian Plateau of West Virginia, USA
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Environmental Sciences & Ecology↗
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Source apportionment of airborne volatile organic compounds near unconventional oil and gas development
Oil and natural gas (ONG) extraction emits volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Certain VOCs are identified as hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) while others contribute to ozone formation. This study examines the impact of ONG operations on VOC levels during the development of multi-well ONG pads in suburban Broomfield, Colorado. From October 2018 to December 2020, weekly VOC measurements were taken at 18 sites across the area. These included spots near well pads, in adjacent neighborhoods, and at a background site, covering various stages of well pad development including drilling, hydraulic fracturing, flowback, and production. Analysis using Positive Matrix Factorization (PMF) identified six factors, including combustion, background/biogenic sources, light and complex alkanes, drilling activities, and ONG acetylene. Factors linked to local ONG activities exhibited clear temporal and spatial correlations with Broomfield well development. Benzene source analysis revealed distinct contribution gradients, with ONG-related sources notably influencing areas near the well pads, particularly in pre-production. ONG-related weekly benzene contributions varied from 9% to 63% at a community background site and 18% to 89% in a neighborhood close to a well pad.
54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗
The Geochemistry and Microbial Ecology of Produced Waters from Three Different Unconventional Oil and Gas Regions
One of the most significant challenges associated with predicting reservoir fluid properties is accounting for the effect of microbial activity, which catalyzes chemical reactions that lead to corrosion and sulfide release during or after hydraulic fracturing operations. The current understanding of microbial populations living in hydraulic fracturing systems is based on a limited number of samples and well sites, necessitating additional research efforts to confirm preliminary findings and identify factors driving the microbial ecology. The project objective is to profile the geochemistry and microbiology of three different oil and gas basins to order increase the understanding of how microbial activity affects reservoir fluids.
Lipus, Daniel↗
Technologist in Residence for Advanced Manufacturing and Materials in Unconventional Oil and Gas Equipment and Infrastructure
The DOE Technologist in Residence (TIR) program pairs a senior technical staff member from a National Laboratory (Lab Technologist), and a senior technical staff member(s) from a clean energy manufacturing company or consortium of companies (Industry Technologist). Each technologist may represent single or multiple national laboratories, or single or multiple companies. These pairs of Lab and industry technologists work together for a period of 18 to 24 months to accomplish several goals: 1) Identify the participating company’s (or companies’) technical priorities and challenges, and the resources and capabilities in DOE’s National Laboratories that may be highly suitable to address them; 2) Propose collaborative R&D efforts to develop science-based solutions to the company’s (or companies’) most strategic scientific, technological, and business issues; and 3) Develop a general framework agreement and begin developing specific scopes of work for the proposed collaborative R&D efforts. The proposed R&D will then take place outside of the program and will not use TIR program funds. Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pioneer Natural Resources were awarded a TIR project by DOE in late 2016 and the CRADA component of the project was initiated in 2017. This report describes work performed under the CRADA agreement between 2017 and 2020.
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
Experimental and Modeling Approaches to Understanding Mineral Scale Occurrence in Unconventional Oil and Gas Operations
Presented by LRST at the Carnegie Mellon University - Environmental Engineering, Sustainability, and Science Seminar, 9/3
Mackey, Justin↗
Reduced methane recovery at high pressure due to methane trapping in shale nanopores
By 2050, shale gas production is expected to exceed three-quarters of total US natural gas production. However, current unconventional hydrocarbon gas recovery rates are only around 20%. Maximizing production of this natural resource thus necessitates improved understanding of the fundamental mechanisms underlying hydrocarbon retention within the nanoporous shale matrix. In this study, we integrated molecular simulation with high-pressure small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), an experimental technique uniquely capable of characterizing methane behavior in situ within shale nanopores at elevated pressures. Samples were created using Marcellus shale, a gas-generative formation comprising the largest natural gas field in the United States. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to the conventional wisdom that elevated drawdown pressure increases methane recovery, a higher peak pressure led to the trapping of dense, liquid-like methane in sub-2 nm radius nanopores, which comprise more than 90% of the measured nanopore volume, due to irreversible deformation of the kerogen matrix. These findings have critical implications for pressure management strategies to maximize hydrocarbon recovery, as well as broad implications for fluid behavior under confinement.
58 GEOSCIENCES↗
NETL Natural Gas Lifecycle Model 2020 Rev1
This is the excel-based life cycle model that contains all the parameters and Monte Carlo simulation capabilities to model the techno-regions contained in the report: Life Cycle Analysis of Natural Gas Extraction and Power Generation: U.S. 2020 Emissions Profile. This is an update to a previous version (https://edx.netl.doe.gov/dataset/netl-natural-gas-lifecycle-model) and corrects a modeling error in the post-processing natural gas composition.
Calcium Chloride↗
Unconventional Pathway in the Gas‐Phase Synthesis of 9 H ‐Fluorene (C 13 H 10 ) via the Radical–Radical Reaction of Benzyl (C 7 H 7 ) with Phenyl (C 6 H 5 )
Abstract The simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) carrying a five‐membered ring—9 H ‐fluorene (C 13 H 10 )—is produced isomer‐specifically in the gas phase by reacting benzyl (C 7 H 7 ⋅) with phenyl (C 6 H 5 ⋅) radicals in a pyrolytic reactor coupled with single photon ionization mass spectrometry. The unconventional mechanism of reaction is supported by theoretical calculations, which first produces diphenylmethane and unexpected 1‐(6‐methylenecyclohexa‐2,4‐dienyl)benzene intermediates (C 13 H 12 ) accessed via addition of the phenyl radical to the ortho position of the benzyl radical. These findings offer convincing evidence for molecular mass growth processes defying conventional wisdom that radical‐radical reactions are initiated through recombination at their radical centers. The structure of 9 H ‐fluorene acts as a molecular building block for complex curved nanostructures like fullerenes and nanobowls providing fundamental insights into the hydrocarbon evolution in high temperature settings.
He, Chao↗
Optimizing conformance control for gas injection EOR in unconventional reservoirs
Field observations have shown that interference between wells caused by connected fractures commonly exists in unconventional reservoirs. The well interference effect and conformance issues could lead to minimal enhanced oil recovery response (EOR) in actual operations if they are not properly controlled. A series of data analysis, modeling, and experimental activities were performed in this study to investigate the gas EOR strategies in the Bakken Formation. Employing the embedded discrete fracture modeling technology, a multiple-well, multiple-fracture model was developed to capture the well interference and conformance issues in the Bakken. The model made it possible to investigate the complex flow behavior between wells in the EOR (huff ‘n’ puff) processes. Alternative EOR and conformance control strategies using water and surfactant injections were studied to improve oil production performance based on experimental observations. Results showed that water injection could be used for conformance control in the Bakken because of its relatively low mobility compared to gas; however, water could also block oil flow around the conformance control wells because of the high interfacial tension between oil and water. Adding surfactant to the injection water is more effective for improving gas EOR performance since surfactant reduces the oil–water interfacial tension and contact angle effectively. Up to 9.4% more oil could be produced from the huff ‘n’ puff wells in 2 years of EOR operations when rich gas was injected at only 3 MMscf/d with 6000 psi of surfactant injection in the offset wells for conformance control.
42 ENGINEERING↗
An Integrated Multiscale Modeling Framework for Unconventional Stimulation and Production (Final Report)
The production of oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs largely depends upon two main features operating at different scales: (1) the establishment of a reservoir scale stimulated fracture network that effectively communicates with the rock volume, enhancing permeability and transport to the wellbore and (2) the coupled multi-phase flow, chemical and mechanical processes affecting the migration of hydrocarbons from the low permeability country rock adjacent to the stimulated fracture network. To date, there has been no simulation framework that allows seamless and integrated prediction of these features across spatial scales extending from the pore structure of the reservoir rock to the volume of the reservoir. In addition, there has been a lack of suitable field measurements to test such models, as stimulation and production data are often proprietary and not freely available to national laboratories and academic institutions. New multi-scale simulation capabilities are needed that are validated against suitable field-based research experiments on hydraulic fracturing and shale production.
02 PETROLEUM↗
Soft interface instability and gas flow channeling in low-permeability deformable media
Understanding gas percolation through a clay layer or a shale formation is of great importance for the development of a geologic repository for nuclear waste disposal, a subsurface system for gas storage, and an engineering approach for hydrocarbon extraction from unconventional reservoirs. Gas injection experiments have revealed complex dynamic behaviours of gas percolation through water saturated compacted bentonite, characterized by a high breakthrough pressure, rapid breakthrough, a pressure/stress decay after the breakthrough, a relatively high migration rate, high-frequency periodic/nonperiodic variations in flow rate, stepwise rate reductions during relaxation, and low gas saturation over the whole process, all indicating channelling nature of the processes. Using linear stability analyses, we show that this channelling can autonomously emerge from the instability of the deformable interface between the injected gas and the compacted bentonite matrix driven by local stress concentration, pore dilation, and hydrologic gradient. Channel patterns formed would possess a fractal geometry. We further show that, once a percolating channel is established, the gas injected would percolate through the channel in a chain of gas bubbles, also due to the interface instability, resulting in periodic/chaotic variations in gas flow rate. Our work provides a unified explanation for key features observed for gas percolation in low-permeability deformable media. The work also suggests a possibility of designing an engineered barrier system for a nuclear waste repository that can have controllable gas release while limit water transport.
Bentonite↗
Use of Tracer Elements for Estimating Community Exposure to Marcellus Shale Development Operations
Since 2009, unconventional natural gas development (UNGD) has significantly increased in Appalachia’s Marcellus Shale formation. Elevations of fine particulate matter <2.5 µm (PM2.5), have been documented in areas surrounding drilling operations during well stimulation. Furthermore, many communities are experiencing increased industrial activities and probable UNGD air pollutant exposures. Recent studies have associated UNGD emissions with health effects based on distances from well pads. In this study, PM2.5 filter samples were collected on an active gas well pad in Morgantown, West Virginia, and three locations downwind during hydraulic stimulation. Fine particulate samples were analyzed for major and trace elements. An experimental source identification model was developed to determine which elements appeared to be traceable downwind of the UNGD site and whether these elements corresponded to PM2.5 measurements. Results suggest that 1) magnesium may be useful for detecting the reach of UNGD point source emissions, 2) complex surface topographic and meteorological conditions in the Marcellus Shale region could be modeled and confounding sources discounted, and 3) well pad emissions may be measurable at distances of at least 7 km. If shown to be more widely applicable, future tracer studies could enhance epidemiological studies showing health effects of UNGD-associated emissions at ≥15 km.
60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
Biogeochemistry of the Antrim Shale Natural Gas Reservoir
The Antrim Shale, located in the Michigan Basin, United States (U.S.), is a major U.S. shale play having produced over 2.5 Trillion Cubic Feet (Tcf) of unconventional shale natural gas as of 2010. The shallow nature of this formation sets it apart from other, more characterized unconventional shale gas plays. The depth of gas production of the Antrim ranges from approximately 150 to 600 m and it is typically vertically drilled, contrary to deeper, horizontally drilled shales. A thorough understanding of the biogeochemistry and microbiology of this complex system will be advantageous for improving well performance, produced water management, and potential biocidal treatment as microbial community composition can vary substantially even among closely spaced wells. In this study, we analyzed produced water collected from nine different wells in the Antrim Shale by investigating the geochemical and microbial community composition of the produced water to gain greater insight into the overall biogeochemistry of this unique shale system. The majority of the wells from this study had high total dissolved solids (TDS) primarily composed of chloride and sodium, averaging 86,804 mg/L with a maximum 116,223 mg/L; however, three of the wells sampled along the northern margin of the basin exhibited significantly lower TDS ranging from 4932 to 6496 mg/L. Overall, our microbial community analysis revealed relatively low abundance within our samples and high variability of the microbial community among the sampled wells. The majority of bacterial sequences were identified within Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, and Actinobacteria phyla and metagenomic sequencing revealed the low presence of Methanobacteriaceae within each sample. We also investigated potential microbial community drivers and found that TDS, sodium, chloride, iodide, bromide, ammonium, potassium, and strontium were significantly correlated with the observed microbial community. The varying geochemical conditions between wells demonstrate different subsurface environmental niches, potentially driving the heterogeneous microbial communities we observed from well to well. This analysis suggests an important relationship between both well location and geochemistry and the observed microbial community that can persist in the reservoir. Continued studies of the Antrim Shale will improve our understanding of the complex interdependencies of this ecosystem.
03 NATURAL GAS↗
Unconventional Pathway in the Gas-Phase Synthesis of 9 H -Fluorene (C 13 H 10 ) via the Radical–Radical Reaction of Benzyl (C 7 H 7 ) with Phenyl (C 6 H 5 )
The simplest polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) carrying a five-membered ring - 9H-fluorene (C 13 H 10 ) - is produced isomer-specifically in the gas phase by reacting benzyl (C 7 H 7 •) with phenyl (C 6 H 5 •) radicals in a pyrolytic reactor coupled with single photon ionization mass spectrometry. The unconventional mechanism of reaction is supported by theoretical calculations, which first produces diphenylmethane and unexpectedly 1-(6-methylenecyclohexa-2,4-dienyl)benzene intermediates (C 13 H 12 ) accessed via addition of the phenyl radical to the ortho position of the benzyl radical. These findings offer convincing evidence for molecular mass growth processes defying conventional wisdom that radical–radical reactions are initiated through recombination at their radical centers. Furthermore, the structure of 9H-fluorene acts as a molecular building block for complex curved nanostructures like fullerenes and nanobowls providing fundamental insights into the hydrocarbon evolution in high temperature settings.
37 INORGANIC, ORGANIC, PHYSICAL, AND ANALYTICAL CH↗
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage hub development on the Gulf Coast
Abstract The Gulf Coast of the United States hosts diverse power generation, refining, and petrochemical processing facilities, resulting in the nation's largest volumetric concentration of industrial CO 2 emissions, rivaled only by the Ohio River Valley. These emissions sources are concentrated in specific industrial clusters that allow combining emissions streams to achieve economies of scale. The region is currently undergoing globally significant industrial expansion and investment as a result of abundant and inexpensive regional unconventional natural gas availability, and is a growing exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Opportunities to integrate CO 2 emission management within the diverse energy chains in the region are volumetrically significant and include both concentrated and dilute sources. Significant examples of capture, transport, and storage exist. Offshore storage is particularly attractive, as it provides simplified land leasing models (single governmental land owner), proven reservoir quality, and presents fewer risks to both protected groundwater and populated areas. Projects can now take advantage of recently expanded opportunities under section 45Q of the Internal Revenue Service tax code. The region continues to evolve as an active carbon‐handling hub, and is uniquely suited to justify additional investment in carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technologies via a large‐scale integrated project development. Continued development of integrated projects will allow the region to continue to grow economically within its strong fossil‐fuel handling competence focus while advancing low‐carbon energy technologies that maintain globally competitiveness. © 2021 The Authors. Greenhouse Gases: Science and Technology published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
45Q↗
Laboratory and pilot-scale studies of membrane distillation for desalination of produced water from Permian Basin
Substantial quantities of produced water generated during the extraction of oil and gas from unconventional reservoirs present significant environmental concern and increase the operating cost for this industry. Membrane Distillation (MD) can serve as a potential solution for beneficial reuse of produced water by generating high-quality permeate and reducing the volume of produced water requiring disposal. This study investigated treatment of produced water from Permian Basin in both laboratory and pilot-scale studies. Laboratory tests revealed the potential to successfully recover 50% of produced water although some increase in permeate conductivity was observed due to the passage of ammonia from the feed side. Initial pilot-scale test with filtration of raw produced water as the only pre-treatment step led to precipitation of SrSO 4 , NaCl, and Fe in the system once the solubility limits for these salts were exceeded. However, chemical pretreatment that included pH adjustment, aeration, and barite precipitation, allowed successful steady-state operation of the AGMD pilot system for 5 days where the produced water was concentrated from 127 g/L to 255 g/L (~50% water recovery) while recovering high quality permeate. Overall, greater than 99.7 % salt rejection was achieved with the average permeate flux of 1.86 LMH. Finally, mass balance analysis suggested potential Ba and Ca precipitation in the system but there was no impact on AGMD performance and permeate quality during 5 days of continuous operation in the field.
42 ENGINEERING↗
Prospecting for Critical Minerals and Rare Earth Elements from Marcellus Shale in the Western Portion of the Appalachian Basin with Non-Destructive Core Characterization
Identification of sources for domestic critical minerals and rare earth elements (CM/REE) has been deemed essential for the energy transition by the United States Department of Energy (DOE). The U.S. DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory’s (NETL) Geomaterials Characterization Laboratory has performed non-destructive core characterizations on energy-relevant rock cores for the past decade. During this time, NETL has published over 36 technical reports and made the associated data publicly available. Much of this work focuses on unconventional shale gas, subsurface carbon storage systems, and carbon-ore. These efforts provide cm-scale petrophysical and elemental data, photographic documentation, detailed core descriptions, and computed tomography (CT) data for each well. This provides a first phase prospecting resource for CM/REE resources and can provide a map for pin-pointing intervals and lithologies for further development. Using historical core characterization data from 12 Marcellus wells from the western portion of the Appalachian Basin, this study builds an improved understanding of the chemostratigraphy of the basin. X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and CT images were used to determine lithologic intervals and potential ore bodies for further analysis, including benchtop digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to better understand the CM/REE enrichments.
Paronish, Thomas J.↗