Abstract
Rapid growth of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas within the USA and the possibility of shale developments within Europe has created public concern about the risks of spills and leaks associated with the industry. Reports from the Texas Railroad Commission (1999 to 2015) and the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission (2009 to 2015) were used to examine spill rates from oil and gas well pads. Pollution incident records for England and road transport incident data for the UK were examined as an analogue for potential offsite spills associated with transport for a developing shale industry.The Texas and Colorado spill data shows that the spill rate on the well pads has increased over the recorded time period. The most common spill cause was equipment failure. Within Colorado 33% of the spills recorded were found during well pad remediation and random site inspections. Based on data from the Texas Railroad Commission, a UK shale industry developing well pads with 10 lateral wells would likely experience a spill for every 16 well pads developed. The same well pad development scenario is estimated to require at least 2856 tanker movements over two years per well pad. Considering this tanker movement estimate with incident and spill frequency data from UK milk tankers, a UK shale industry would likely experience an incident on the road for every 12 well pads developed and a road spill for every 19 well pads developed. Consequently, should a UK shale industry be developed it is important that appropriate mitigation strategies are in place to minimise the risk of spills associated with well pad activities and fluid transportation movements.
Highlights
Increased global demand for energy is driving a rapid increase in the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling (Gross et al, 2013; Patterson et al, 2017)
Should a UK shale industry be developed it is important that appropriate mitigation strategies are in place to minimise the risk of spills associated with well pad activities and fluid transportation movements
The most common cause of leakage was due to equipment failure; the second was due to corrosion of equipment, followed by ‘Acts of God’ and human error
Summary
Increased global demand for energy is driving a rapid increase in the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling (Gross et al, 2013; Patterson et al, 2017). Hydraulic fracturing allows for enhanced oil and gas extraction from unconventional formations such as low-permeability shale and source rock (McLaughlin et al, 2016). The process involves high-volume fluid injection of fracturing fluid into a shale reservoir at a sufficient rate to raise downhole pressure above the fracture pressure of the formation rock, when the shale is pressurised fissures and interconnected fractures are formed enabling greater flow rates of gas into the well (Gregory et al, 2011; Wilson et al, 2017). Additives are generally delivered to the well site in a concentrated form and stored until they are mixed with the base fluid and proppant and pumped down the production well (USA EPA, 2016). Within the USA additives are often stored in multiple, closed containers and moved around the site in specially designed hoses and tubing (USA EPA, 2016)
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