Water Management Practices Used by Fayetteville Shale Gas Producers
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Oil & Natural Gas Technology DOE Award No.: FWP 49462 Water Management Practices Used by Fayetteville Shale Gas Producers Submitted by: John A. Veil Argonne National Laboratory Argonne, IL Prepared for: United States Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory June 2011 Office of Fossil Energy About Argonne National Laboratory Argonne is a U.S. Department of Energy laboratory managed by UChicago Argonne, LLC under contract DE-AC02-06CH11357. The Laboratory’s main facility is outside Chicago, at 9700 South Cass Avenue, Argonne, Illinois 60439. For information about Argonne, see www.anl.gov. Availability of This Report This report is available, at no cost, at http://www.osti.gov/bridge. It is also available on paper to the U.S. Department of Energy and its contractors, for a processing fee, from: U.S. Department of Energy Office of Scientific and Technical Information P.O. Box 62 Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0062 phone (865) 576-8401 fax (865) 576-5728 [email protected] Disclaimer This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor UChicago Argonne, LLC, nor any of their employees or officers, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The views and opinions of document authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof, Argonne National Laboratory, or UChicago Argonne, LLC. ANL/EVS/R-11/5 Water Management Practices Used by Fayetteville Shale Gas Producers prepared for U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fossil Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory prepared by J.A. Veil Environmental Science Division, Argonne National Laboratory June 2011 Water Management in the Fayetteville Shale Page 1 Chapter 1 – Introduction Shale Gas Natural gas is an important energy source for the United States. Shale formations represent a growing source of natural gas for the nation and are among the busiest oil and gas plays in the country. As an indication of their importance, in less than one year’s time, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Energy Information Administration (EIA) dramatically increased its estimate of the proportion of future domestic gas production that is likely to come from shale formations. Figure 1 shows a May 2010 EIA projection of the source of natural gas supplies through 2035. Shale gas supplies were anticipated to play an increasingly important role, increasing from 10% in 2009 to about 24% in 2035. Figure 1 – U.S. Natural Gas Supply by Source – Projection Released May 2010 30 Alaska 25 Gas Shale 20 Coalbed Methane 15 Conventional Tcf/year Onshore 10 Offshore Gas Associated 5 with Crude Oil Net Imports 0 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 2025 2030 2035 Source: DOE/EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2010 (EIA 2010a). Note that Tcf refers to trillion cubic feet. In contrast, Figure 2 shows an accelerated growth of shale gas over a similar period of time. The new EIA projections released in December 2010 now show that shale gas will increase from 14% of the national supply in 2009 to 45% in 2035. Water Management in the Fayetteville Shale Page 2 Figure 2 – U.S. Natural Gas Supply by Source – Projection Released December 2010 Source: DOE/EIA Annual Energy Outlook 2011 – Early Release Overview (EIA 2010b). Shale Gas Resources in the United States Important shale gas formations are found in many parts of the United States, as shown on the map in Figure 3. Much of the early rapid growth in shale gas production took place in the Barnett Shale formation near Fort Worth, Texas. As the technology evolved, operators began to explore other large shale formations in other parts of the country. The most active gas shales to date are the Barnett Shale, the Fayetteville Shale, the Antrim Shale, the Haynesville Shale, the Marcellus Shale, and the Woodford Shale. The Eagle Ford Shale, in southern Texas, has received a great deal of attention in the past year. Depending on the geographical location within the Eagle Ford Shale, a well may produce natural gas, natural gas liquids, or crude oil. A 2009 Shale Gas Primer, sponsored by DOE, includes a chart showing the gas production from several major shale gas formations (GWPC and ALL 2009 – see page 10). DOE/NETL Research Program DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) administers an Environmental Program that aims to find solutions to environmental concerns by focusing on the following program elements: 1. Produced water and fracture flowback water management, particularly in gas shale development areas, 2. Water resource management in oil and gas basins, Water Management in the Fayetteville Shale Page 3 3. Air quality issues associated with oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) activities, 4. Surface impact issues associated with E&P activities, 5. Water resource management in Arctic oil and gas development areas, 6. Decision-making tools that help operators balance resource development and environmental protection, and 7. Online information and data exchange systems that support regulatory streamlining. Figure 3 – U.S. Shale Gas Plays Source: Provided by staff from DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy. There are currently 27 extramural projects in the Environmental Program, with a total value of roughly $32 million (not including participant cost-share). Approximately $10 million of this total is directed toward projects led by industry, $9 million to projects led by universities, $11 million to state agencies and national non-profit organizations, and $2 million to national laboratories for technical support to other project partners. The project portfolio is balanced between projects focused on technology development, data gathering, and development of data management software and decision support tools. Some of these projects are referenced in this report. Program and individual project information can be found at the following NETL links: Water Management in the Fayetteville Shale Page 4 Technology Solutions for Mitigating Environmental Impacts of Oil and Gas E&P Activity http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/factsheets/program/Prog101.pdf Natural Gas and Petroleum Projects, Environmental Solutions, Produced Water Management http://www.netl.doe.gov/technologies/oil-gas/Projects/ENV_TOC.html#Produced Purpose of Report Water issues continue to play an important role in producing natural gas from shale formations. This report examines water issues relating to shale gas production in the Fayetteville Shale. In particular, the report focuses on how gas producers obtain water supplies used for drilling and hydraulically fracturing wells, how that water is transported to the well sites and stored, and how the wastewater from the wells (flowback and produced water) is managed. Last year, Argonne National Laboratory made a similar evaluation of water issues in the Marcellus Shale (Veil 2010). Gas production in the Marcellus Shale involves at least three states, many oil and gas operators, and multiple wastewater management options. Consequently, Veil (2010) provided extensive information on water. This current study is less complicated for several reasons. Gas production in the Fayetteville Shale is somewhat more mature and stable than production in the Marcellus Shale. The Fayetteville Shale underlies a single state (Arkansas). There are only a few gas producers that operate the large majority of the wells in the Fayetteville Shale. Much of the water management information relating to the Marcellus Shale also applies to the Fayetteville Shale. Therefore, it can be referenced from Veil (2010) rather than being recreated here. The author has previously published a report on the Fayetteville Shale (Veil 2007) and has helped to develop an informational website on the Fayetteville Shale (Argonne and University of Arkansas 2008). Both of these sources, which are relevant to the subject of this report, are cited as references. Water Management in the Fayetteville Shale Page 5 Chapter 2 – The Fayetteville Shale The Fayetteville Shale is an unconventional natural gas reservoir located on the Arkansas side of the Arkoma Basin. The formation ranges in thickness from 50 to 550 feet and in depth from 1,500 to 6,500 feet. The shale is a Mississippian-age shale that is the geologic equivalent of the Caney Shale found on the Oklahoma side of the Arkoma Basin and the Barnett Shale found in north Texas (Argonne and University of Arkansas 2008). Location The Fayetteville Shale play stretches across Arkansas from approximately Fort Smith east to beyond Little Rock, Arkansas. It is approximately 50 miles wide from north to south. Figure 4 shows those counties that have some gas wells drilled to the Fayetteville Shale formation. According to the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission, although wells were drilled in Woodruff, Prairie, Phillips, and Lee counties, no production was attributed to any of those counties (Gates 2011). Figure 4 – Map of Arkansas Showing the Counties with Fayetteville Shale Wells Source: Map taken from Argonne and University of Arkansas (2008); updated using data from Arkansas Geology Survey (2010). Water Management in the Fayetteville Shale Page 6 The most active area of natural gas development is from western Conway County through eastern White County. Due to the less than favorable geological conditions, development further to the east is not anticipated to proceed in the near future (Gates 2011). Well Activity The website of the Arkansas Geological Survey includes a spreadsheet of Fayetteville Shale well information (Arkansas Geological Survey 2010).