Dataset Information

Evaluating a groundwater supply contamination incident attributed to Marcellus Shale gas development.

ABSTRACT: High-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) has revolutionized the oil and gas industry worldwide but has been accompanied by highly controversial incidents of reported water contamination. For example, groundwater contamination by stray natural gas and spillage of brine and other gas drilling-related fluids is known to occur. However, contamination of shallow potable aquifers by HVHF at depth has never been fully documented. We investigated a case where Marcellus Shale gas wells in Pennsylvania caused inundation of natural gas and foam in initially potable groundwater used by several households. With comprehensive 2D gas chromatography coupled to time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-TOFMS), an unresolved complex mixture of organic compounds was identified in the aquifer. Similar signatures were also observed in flowback from Marcellus Shale gas wells. A compound identified in flowback, 2-n-Butoxyethanol, was also positively identified in one of the foaming drinking water wells at nanogram-per-liter concentrations. The most likely explanation of the incident is that stray natural gas and drilling or HF compounds were driven ? 1-3 km along shallow to intermediate depth fractures to the aquifer used as a potable water source. Part of the problem may have been wastewaters from a pit leak reported at the nearest gas well pad-the only nearby pad where wells were hydraulically fractured before the contamination incident. If samples of drilling, pit, and HVHF fluids had been available, GCxGC-TOFMS might have fingerprinted the contamination source. Such evaluations would contribute significantly to better management practices as the shale gas industry expands worldwide.

SUBMITTER: Llewellyn GT

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4443362 | biostudies-literature | 2015 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evaluating a groundwater supply contamination incident attributed to Marcellus Shale gas development.

Llewellyn Garth T GT Dorman Frank F Westland J L JL Yoxtheimer D D Grieve Paul P Sowers Todd T Humston-Fulmer E E Brantley Susan L SL

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 20150504 20

High-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) has revolutionized the oil and gas industry worldwide but has been accompanied by highly controversial incidents of reported water contamination. For example, groundwater contamination by stray natural gas and spillage of brine and other gas drilling-related fluids is known to occur. However, contamination of shallow potable aquifers by HVHF at depth has never been fully documented. We investigated a case where Marcellus Shale gas wells in Pennsylvania cau ...[more]

PMID: 25941400

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Project description:This study estimates the life cycle water consumption and wastewater generation impacts of a Marcellus shale gas well from its construction to end of life. Direct water consumption at the well site was assessed by analysis of data from approximately 500 individual well completion reports collected in 2010 by the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Indirect water consumption for supply chain production at each life cycle stage of the well was estimated using the economic input-output life cycle assessment (EIO-LCA) method. Life cycle direct and indirect water quality pollution impacts were assessed and compared using the tool for the reduction and assessment of chemical and other environmental impacts (TRACI). Wastewater treatment cost was proposed as an additional indicator for water quality pollution impacts from shale gas well wastewater. Four water management scenarios for Marcellus shale well wastewater were assessed: current conditions in Pennsylvania; complete discharge; direct reuse and desalination; and complete desalination. The results show that under the current conditions, an average Marcellus shale gas well consumes 20,000 m(3) (with a range from 6700 to 33,000 m(3)) of freshwater per well over its life cycle excluding final gas utilization, with 65% direct water consumption at the well site and 35% indirect water consumption across the supply chain production. If all flowback and produced water is released into the environment without treatment, direct wastewater from a Marcellus shale gas well is estimated to have 300-3000 kg N-eq eutrophication potential, 900-23,000 kg 2,4D-eq freshwater ecotoxicity potential, 0-370 kg benzene-eq carcinogenic potential, and 2800-71,000 MT toluene-eq noncarcinogenic potential. The potential toxicity of the chemicals in the wastewater from the well site exceeds those associated with supply chain production, except for carcinogenic effects. If all the Marcellus shale well wastewater is treated to surface discharge standards by desalination, $59,000-270,000 per well would be required. The life cycle study results indicate that when gas end use is not considered hydraulic fracturing is the largest contributor to the life cycle water impacts of a Marcellus shale gas well.

Project description:Understanding emissions of methane from legacy and ongoing shale gas development requires both regional studies that assess the frequency of emissions and case studies that assess causation. We present the first direct measurements of emissions in a case study of a putatively leaking gas well in the largest shale gas play in the United States. We quantify atmospheric methane emissions in farmland >2 km from the nearest shale gas well cited for casing and cementing issues. We find that emissions are highly heterogeneous as they travel long distances in the subsurface. Emissions were measured near observed patches of dead vegetation and methane bubbling from a stream. An eddy covariance flux tower, chamber flux measurements, and a survey of enhancements of the near-surface methane mole fraction were used to quantify emissions and evaluate the spatial and temporal variability. We combined eddy covariance measurements with the survey of the methane mole fraction to estimate total emissions over the study area (2,800 m2). Estimated at ∼6 kg CH4 day-1, emissions were spatially heterogeneous but showed no temporal trends over 6 months. The isotopic signature of the atmospheric CH4 source (δ13CH4) was equal to -29‰, consistent with methane of thermogenic origin and similar to the isotopic signature of the gas reported from the nearest shale gas well. While the magnitude of emissions from the potential leak is modest compared to large emitters identified among shale gas production sites, it is large compared to estimates of emissions from single abandoned wells. Since other areas of emissions have been identified close to this putatively leaking well, our estimate of emissions likely represents only a portion of total emissions from this event. More comprehensive quantification will require more extensive spatial and temporal sampling of the locations of gas migration to the surface as well as an investigation into the mechanisms of subsurface gas migration. This work highlights an example of atmospheric methane emissions from potential stray gas migration at a location far from a well pad, and further research should explore the frequency and mechanisms behind these types of events to inform careful and strategic natural gas development.

Project description:Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is becoming more prevalent with the increasing use and demand for natural gas; however, the full extent of its environmental impacts is still unknown. Here we measured physicochemical properties and bacterial community composition of sediment samples taken from twenty-eight streams within the Marcellus shale formation in northeastern Pennsylvania differentially impacted by hydraulic fracturing activities. Fourteen of the streams were classified as UOG+, and thirteen were classified as UOG- based on the presence of UOG extraction in their respective watersheds. One stream was located in a watershed that previously had UOG extraction activities but was recently abandoned. We utilized high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene to infer differences in sediment aquatic bacterial community structure between UOG+ and UOG- streams, as well as correlate bacterial community structure to physicochemical water parameters. Although overall alpha and beta diversity differences were not observed, there were a plethora of significantly enriched operational taxonomic units (OTUs) within UOG+ and UOG- samples. Our biomarker analysis revealed many of the bacterial taxa enriched in UOG+ streams can live in saline conditions, such as Rubrobacteraceae. In addition, several bacterial taxa capable of hydrocarbon degradation were also enriched in UOG+ samples, including Oceanospirillaceae. Methanotrophic taxa, such as Methylococcales, were significantly enriched as well. Several taxa that were identified as enriched in these samples were enriched in samples taken from different streams in 2014; moreover, partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) revealed clustering between streams from the different studies based on the presence of hydraulic fracturing along the second axis. This study revealed significant differences between bacterial assemblages within stream sediments of UOG+ and UOG- streams and identified several potential biomarkers for evaluating and monitoring the response of autochthonous bacterial communities to potential hydraulic fracturing impacts.

Dataset Information

Evaluating a groundwater supply contamination incident attributed to Marcellus Shale gas development.

Publications

Evaluating a groundwater supply contamination incident attributed to Marcellus Shale gas development.

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