Advantages of Gas Gas burns cleanly Gas is easily handled, Gas requires no refining, only minor processing (remove H2S etc.; add scent) Gas has very high energy content Gas is useful for petrochemicals Gas is important for homes, businesses- heating; cooking…

Astonishing to Waste Slow Gas Industry Growth Vast quantities of gas are "flared" off Middle East (8.5% flared), Africa (20%) Russia; Mid East, Nigeria, North Sea…! Nat Geo., 10/1998

Morrow Co, OH 1960’s Flaring is less common now but still continues LNG Tankers (liquified natural gas, -160°C; 1/600 volume Easy transport

http://www.geocities.com/jefrog4/Lng.jpg

LNG Tanker

NOAA 1994-5Gas Flares CitiesFires Boats

http://sedac.ciesin.org/plue/gpw/presentations/ChrisElvidge/nightCD/images/fig2.html

Gas Flares,Nigeria12/1999

WasteAcid rainNoiseHeat & LightDeforestation for fuel

Gas Flares fromOil collection facilityAlaska North Slope

http://www.nrdc.org/amicus/01sum/arctic.asp

2012

NASA

NASA 2015

Bakken Fm

Eagle Ford Shale

U.S. Has More Gas Flares than Any CountryScientific American May 3 2016

Gas Reserves In terms of energy content, Gas reserves ~ Oil reserves

Conventional Reserves Russia: leader by far Iran: huge reserves but much flared off! USA: well-endowed, but is a major importer

“Unconventional” Reserves

Coal bed methane

Shale Gas

Gas Hydrates

Landfill Gas

Geopressured Aquifers

Tight Sands- low f and k

Pike River Mine, NZ29 miners trapped, methane explosion The Telegraph (NZ)

Nov 22, 2010

Unconventional Gas Reserves Coal bed methane “CBM”: = 3000 to 9200 Tcf = 0.5 to 2 x conventional resources

Economical if get 50 to 70 ft3/ton coal; mostly adsorbed on coal

Currently 9% of US gas production MT WY

Each well produces 5 to 20 gpm of saline groundwater Shale Gas

Gas Hydrates

Landfill Gas

Geopressured Aquifers Tight Sands- low f and k

http://waterquality.montana.edu/docs/methane/cbmfaq.shtml

Coal Bed Methane

http://www.cookinletoilandgas.org/kpb/issues.htm

BubblesCH4 CO2 N2 Ethane

http://waterquality.montana.edu/docs/methane/cbm101.shtml

CBM Well

Unconventional Gas Reserves Coal bed methane “CBM”: = 3000 to 9200 Tcf = 0.5 to 2 x conventional resources

Shale Gas: = 750 Tcf resources in USA (2011) 160 Tcf proved (2014) Currently 23% of US gas production- fast growth mostly black shales hydrofracking Gas Hydrates

Landfill Gas

Geopressured Aquifers Tight Sands- low f and k

Marcellus Shale Devonian, black shale Vertical fractures 260 TCF ?

USGS USGS

Combined directional drilling & hydrofracing

USGS

Environmental Problems GW Use & Heavy Equipment Needed Integrity of GW aquifers breached GW Contamination: Fracking fluids- 0.5% chemicals, many toxic methanol, propanol, butoxyethanol, ethyulene glycol…

Flaming faucets ?! Methane release to air >> Conventional gas production

Fracking Banned in France

Time.video

NE PA

Induced Seismicity Eola Field, OK 43 EQ, Jan 2011

Shallow, small ≤ 2.8 Mgtd

Oklahoma Geological SurveyOF1-2011

Unconventional Gas Reserves Coal bed methane: 3000 to 9200 Tcf = 1 to 2 x conventional resources Economical if 50 to 70 ft3/ton coal Currently 8 % of US gas production MT WY Each well produces 5 to 20 gpm of saline groundwater

Black Shales: ALSO OIL! = 750 Tcf resources (2011)

Gas Hydrates Crystalline CH4 + H2O ices (1: 6 ratio => 164:1 vol ratio) Marine sediments >300m deep; surface layers >100 m thick (seismic reflectors) Arctic permafrost Huge amounts: 2x organic carbon in all Fossil Fuel

Landfill Gas Geopressured Aquifers Dissolved CH4 in formation water Gulf Coast @ 4-5 km

Tight Sands- low f and k

Oil Shales 5 to 25% organic matter Mostly Kerogen = complex, waxy, insoluble, high mol. wt. HC's d13C = -20 to -32 PDB Enormous Potential Resource for Oil and Gas: total: 17 T bbl @ >0.65 bbl/ton Marcellus Shale: 260 TCF gas (DOE 2009)

Economic & environmental problems Oil Shale Formation: Fine-grained sediment Reducing environment Terrestrial & marine

USA Huge oil shale reserves

Green River Shale (Eocene): resources = 2 to 4 x1012 bbl = 1 to 2 x world's pre-industrial inventory of recoverable oil

Devonian Shales Chattanooga-Ohio-New Albany Shales Mostly only 1-15 gal/ton

Shale Oil Production Pulverize shale & heat to >500°C 10-100 gal oil/ton shale (0.25 to 2.5 bbl/ ton)

http://www.science.duq.edu

US Oil Shale Deposits

Green RiverDevonian

Fossil Butte NM, WY Green River Shale

NPS

Eocene Fish Phareodus encaustusGreen River Fm., WY

NPS

http://www.coloradomtn.edu/campus_rfl/staff_rfl/kohls/28.jpg

Green River Fm.Piceance Ck Basin, CO

Ohio Shale@ Rocky River

http://www.oberrecht.com

http://www.leica-gallery.net/photo-lib/image

Dunkleosteus terrelliCleveland Museum of Natural History

Shale Oil Production Pulverize shale & heat to >500°C 10-100 gal oil/ton shale (0.25 to 2.5 bbl/ ton)

Scotland 1850-1963 Produced 100 million bbl @ ~25 gal/ton! USA Billions spent on pilot plants, All shut down by 1991 Estonia China Russia

Possibilities & Problems Surface mining & in situ retorting (fracture, then set underground fires) Much waste rock Requires much water Groundwater contamination Cost = $45/bbl (uneconomical)

Unconventional Gas Reserves Coal bed methane: 3000 to 9200 Tcf = 1 to 2 x conventional resources Economical if 50 to 70 ft3/ton coal Currently 8 % of US gas production MT WY Each well produces 5 to 20 gpm of saline groundwater

Black Shales = 750 Tcf resources (2011)

Gas Hydrates Crystalline CH4 + H2O ices (1: 6 ratio => 164:1 vol ratio) Marine sediments >300m deep; surface layers >100 m thick (seismic reflectors) Arctic permafrost Huge amounts: 2x organic carbon in all Fossil Fuel

Landfill Gas Geopressured Aquifers Dissolved CH4 in formation water Gulf Coast @ 4-5 km

Tight Sands- low f and k

http://www.nrl.navy.mil/Review02/images/chemicalFig7.jpg

World Methane Hydrate Distribution

Ice Worm Hesiocaeca methanicola MMS

Ice Worm Hesiocaeca methanicola MMS

Gas Hydrate from Piston CoreGulf of MexicoUSGS

http://www.gashydrate.de/index_main.html

Gas Hydrate“Burning ice”

http://www.dct.tudelft.nl/ttf/hydrate.htm

S1 Hydrate Structure “ Guest” HC molecules in hydrogen-bonded ice cage

USGS

WORLD ENERGY CONSUMPTION (2001)

= 403 x1015 BTU = 13.5 x 1012 W continuous (@100% efficiency) >90% Fossil Fuel

WORLD’S PHOTOSYNTHESIS 40 x 1012 W

WHAT’S NEXT? Rapid decline in global oil production anticipated ?? USA ~ 425,000 oil wells, Wall St J 12/28/98 p. A2 of which 300,000 are “strippers” < 10 bbl/day Situation has changed with fracking

Get more oil? Synthetic Oil ? Conserve? Develop alternate energy sources?