Atmospheric Impacts of the Oil and Gas Industry

Eduardo P Olaguer

• Publisher: Elsevier
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9780128018835
• eBook ISBN: 9780128018583
• Topic: Sciences physiques
• Subtopic: Météorologie et climatologie

Atmospheric Impacts of the Oil and Gas Industry provides the most up-to-date scientific and technological methods available to quantify oil and gas industry emissions and atmospheric impacts in a manner that is relevant to the development of, compliance with, and enforcement of effective policy and regulations. The book offers a concise survey of these methods to facilitate the implementation of solutions that promote sustainable energy production.Part I covers a technical and descriptive summary of air quality and global change issues relevant to the oil and gas industry, with Part II summarizing state-of-the-art methods pertaining to the analysis and solution of the problems identified in the earlier section. Examples of state-of-the-art methods covered include real-time monitoring with chemical ionization mass spectrometry, drone-mounted mini-lasers and gas cells, tomographic remote sensing, inverse modeling of emissions, 3D fluid, chemical, and transport models, and contemporary control technologies, such as flare minimization, oxidation catalysts, and vapor recovery.In addition, field studies, policy-relevant modeling assessments, and regulatory decisions from multiple geographic regions are presented, providing readers best practices from real world applications.- Addresses major environmental issues of concern as a result of the oil and gas industry- Reflects a balanced, objective view that is based on scientific principles- Provides a wide geographical perspective- Presents a rigorous and comprehensive scientific basis for crafting solutions to air quality problems created by the oil and gas industry

Part I

The Issues that Matter

Outline

Chapter 1 A Brief History of Oil and Gas Development From an Environmental Perspective

Chapter 2 Overview of Oil and Gas Processes and Their Emissions to Air

Chapter 3 Toxic Air Pollution on Neighborhood Scales

Chapter 4 Urban and Regional Ozone

Chapter 5 Particulate Matter and Surface Deposition

Chapter 6 Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Climate Impacts

Chapter 1

A Brief History of Oil and Gas Development From an Environmental Perspective

Abstract

This chapter provides a brief history of unconventional oil and gas development, including the role of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies in the shale gas revolution. A survey of the environmental and public health literature related to oil and gas development is also included, with an emphasis on air quality and climate change impacts. The main environmental aspects covered are the greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas compared to coal, ozone nonattainment in urban shale plays (e.g., the Barnett Shale of Texas), hazardous air pollutants such as formaldehyde and benzene, and the likely underestimate of emissions from oil and gas activities in official emission inventories.

Keywords

Oil and gas development; unconventional resources; shale; environmental health; greenhouse gas footprint; ozone nonattainment; hazardous air pollutants; emission inventories

Chapter Outline

The Rise of Unconventional Resources 3

Investigations of Environmental and Health Impacts 6

References 9

The Rise of Unconventional Resources

Oil and natural gas, together known as petroleum, are fossil fuels derived from various types of sub-surface geological formations. Natural gas is composed principally of methane and other light hydrocarbons, while oil is made up of heavier alkanes, cycloalkanes, aromatics, and sulfur compounds. Crude oil is dark and viscous, while the term “condensate” refers to clear and volatile liquid petroleum.

Conventional oil and gas resources are those in which petroleum naturally flows through the source rock. Over the last few decades, however, oil and gas have been increasingly mined from unconventional reservoirs such as shale, tight sands, and coal beds, for which conventional drilling techniques are insufficient (see Fig. 1.1). The exploitation of unconventional resources has been made possible by horizontal drilling technology, which radically increases the sub-surface volume accessible via a single well pad, and more controversially by hydraulic fracturing, in which water, sand, and chemicals are used to break up dense rock formations deep underground, rendering them more porous. As a result of these technologies, the US Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated that as of January 1, 2013 there were about 2276 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of technically recoverable dry natural gas in the United States, enough natural gas to last about 84 years at the 2013 rate of consumption (EIA, 2015).

Figure 1.1 Illustration of various types of oil and gas resources and horizontal drilling technology. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2015. Annual energy outlook 2015 with projections to 2040. Office of Communications, Washington, DC.

The exploitation of unconventional resources has resulted in a boom in US natural gas production since the turn of the century. The share of total gas production from unconventional reservoirs more than doubled (31–67%) from 2000 to 2011 (Moore et al., 2014). Shale gas production, in particular, is expected to increase by 73% from 11.3 Tcf in 2013 to 19.6 Tcf in 2040 (EIA, 2015).

It is the shale gas revolution, in particular, that has attracted the most environmental concern, largely because of the many and extensive shale plays in the United States (see Fig. 1.2), and because the mining of shale gas has penetrated even urban areas, beginning historically with major cities in the Barnett Shale of Texas, such as Fort Worth and Arlington. It was in the Barnett that George P. Mitchell, the founder of Mitchell Energy and Development Corporation, pioneered the extraction of shale gas using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques during the 1980s and 1990s (Wang et al., 2014). Since then, drilling and other exploration and production activities have proliferated throughout the Barnett, even amid residential neighborhoods, with required setbacks (distances between oil and gas sites and sensitive receptors such as dwellings) as little as a few hundred feet (Fry, 2013). This phenomenon has replicated itself to varying degrees in other shale plays throughout the country, drawing the ire of local citizens and activists in response to nuisances and alleged health hazards attending the mining of shale petroleum. Such conflicts have been exacerbated by split estate laws that separate the ownership of surface property and minerals, effectively denying landowners control over oil and gas activities.

Figure 1.2 Map of shale plays in the continental United States. Energy Information Administration (EIA), 2015. Annual energy outlook 2015 with projections to 2040. Office of Communications, Washington, DC.

Investigations of Environmental and Health Impacts

The environmental and health impacts of unconventional oil and gas development have only recently become subjects of intense research. This is demonstrated by Fig. 1.3, reproduced from Hays and Shonkoff (2016), who surveyed the relevant peer-reviewed literature between 2009 and 2015. A literature review focusing exclusively on human health impacts was conducted by Werner et al. (2015), who ranked studies according to the strength of evidence on adverse environmental health outcomes, mainly due to air and water quality. They found only 109 relevant studies between 1995 and 2014, only 7 of which were considered highly relevant based on strength of evidence.

Figure 1.3 Number of publications that assess the impacts of shale or tight gas development per year, 2009–15. Hays, J., Shonkoff, S.B.C., 2016. Toward an understanding of the environmental and publichealth impacts of unconventional natural gas development: a categorical assessment of the peer-reviewed scientific literature, 2009–2015. PLoS One 11, e0154164, http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154164.

Among the factors limiting the validity of environmental health studies has been the protection of trade secrets, which prevents widespread knowledge of the identity and hazards of specific chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. Colborn et al. (2011) used material safety data sheets to identify as many as 632 chemicals in shale gas operations. They found that 75% of the chemicals may negatively impact sensory, respiratory, or gastrointestinal systems, 50% may negatively affect the nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems, 37% may disrupt the endocrine system, and 25% could cause cancer or genetic mutations.

Considerably more information is available in the scientific literature about environmental pollution due to shale petroleum mining than about corresponding human health impacts. The first major environmental concern to attract public attention was the potential contamination of water resources (Osborn et al., 2011). Such contamination may occur due to accidental spills and runoff of drilling fluids or produced water drawn from oil and gas reservoirs (flowback), the disposal of wastewater, the rupture of well cement or casings, or leaks from fractured rock. Rozell and Reaven (2012) concluded that disposal of drilling wastewater likely posed a much larger risk than other contamination pathways, while Vidic et al. (2013) argued that structural impairment of cement in wellbores was the most common mechanism for groundwater pollution due to oil and gas activities. In addition to concern about water quality, there is also concern about water quantity in areas where hydraulic fracturing occurs, since the process requires 2–4 million gallons of water per well (Wang et al., 2014). Injection or extraction of fluids during hydraulic fracturing or disposal of wastewater may also cause earthquakes (NRC, 2012).

Public attention to the atmospheric impacts of the oil and gas industry has focused mainly on the role of methane leaks in accelerating climate change. Natural gas, the dominant c...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Introduction: Definition of the Problem
• Part I: The Issues that Matter
• Part II: Tools for Crafting Solutions
• Epilogue: The Road Ahead
• Appendix A. Conventional Air Quality Monitoring Stations
• Appendix B. Source Apportionment Techniques
• Index