Laboratory and field analysis of flowback water from gas shales

Zolfaghari, Ashkan; Dehghanpour, Hassan; Noel, Mike; Bearinger, Doug

doi:10.1016/j.juogr.2016.03.004

Cited by 100 publications

(82 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…This magnitude of salinity is about ten times greater than the salinity of the seawater. Similar trend of increase in flowback water salinity has been observed across Horn River Basin in Canada, Wattenberg Formation in Colorado and other shale plays (Blauch et al 2009;Jiang 2013;Zolfaghari et al 2016).…”

Section: Flow Rates Before and After Shut-insupporting

confidence: 75%

A critical review of water uptake by shales

Singh

2016

Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

240

146

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The shale boom in North America started more than a decade ago, however, the issue of substantial fracturing fluid loss inside shale did not draw much attention for a decade. In the past few years, many researchers conducted laboratory experiments to 1) observe various processes by which water imbibes into shale rocks, and 2) understand the mechanisms behind each process that contributes to fluid uptake in shale. Although there is consistency in most of the observations that control the liquid filling in shales, some issues remain in regards to wettability. Many mechanisms seem to be contributing to liquid filling in the laboratory experiments, but there is no consensus on the dominant mechanisms. Even though some observations from field provide consistent signatures, we do not yet have a verified answer for the geo-mechanisms behind those observations. This paper provides a critical review of the observations (laboratory and field), the mechanisms behind those observations, and the models to mimic the imbibition behavior of shales. In this regard, following contents are critically reviewed: 1) history of imbibition in shales, 2) laboratory observations, 3) field observations, 4) mechanisms of water imbibition in shales, and 5) simulation models. We also discuss evaporation of water in shale as an additional mechanism that has not been proposed before, but may be contributing to the loss of water in shale formations.

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Section: Flow Rates Before and After Shut-insupporting

confidence: 75%

A critical review of water uptake by shales

Singh

2016

Journal of Natural Gas Science and Engineering

240

146

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“…Several studies analysed the role of clay minerals on water imbibition capacity of shales [8,9]. Imbibition is a process of absorbing a wetting phase into a porous rock.…”

Section: Fluid Absorption In Shalementioning

confidence: 99%

Thermogravimetry as a tool for measuring of fracturing fluid absorption in shales

Labus

2018

J Therm Anal Calorim

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Water-based fracturing fluids are used for gas shale stimulations. The fluids are pumped under pressure into the well to create conductive fractures in hydrocarbon-bearing zones. The chemical additives vary depending on the geological and technical conditions of the well. One of the requirements of good fluid coherence is its low absorbency relative to the formation rock. Standard water absorption tests for rocks are usually performed on cubic samples (50 9 50 9 50 mm) soaked in water. In case of rocks which are drilled from the borehole, obtaining such large samples is very difficult; therefore, an attempt was made to determine the rock absorption on small samples, using the TG analysis. Thermogravimetric (TG/DTG) experiments were conducted in temperature range 40-300°C in synthetic air environment. Shale rock samples were soaked in water and fracturing fluid. The absorption of the rocks is related to the shale's mineral composition, which was also determined by thermal analysis (TG/DSC).

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“…The low-TDS waters reflect an early stage of groundwater recharge without much mineralization induced by the water-rock interaction, while HCO 3 -Ca and HCO 3 -Ca·Mg water types suggest the dissolution of carbonate minerals in the karst aquifers as presented by Equations (1) and (2). The saturation index (SI) calculation is conducted by geochemical software PHREEQC 3.0 and llnl.dat [31].…”

Section: Geochemical Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The DIC in the shallow groundwater can be generated by the weathering of silicate minerals, the dissolution of marine carbonates, or bacterial sulfate reduction [3]. Because the shallow aquifers are composed of Triassic carbonates, the dissolution of marine carbonate may be the dominant source s of DIC as illustrated by Equations (1) and (2). The δ 13 C DIC value could reflect the isotopic fractionation between DIC species and if the dissolution of carbonate minerals was occurring, one would expect a DIC with a δ 13 C DIC value of −15.1‰, assuming an open system with equal proportions of carbonate dissolution (δ 13 C DIC , 0‰) and soil CO 2 (δ 13 C DIC , −23‰) at 25 • C, with all the DIC-bearing species in an isotopic equilibrium.…”

Section: Geochemical Reactionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shale gas existing in low-permeability reservoirs has rapidly emerged as one of the vital sources of unconventional energies, and the development of multi-horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies has paved the way for economic exploitation of shale gas resources [1,2]. Environmental concerns from shale gas production have drawn more and more attention from the public and regulatory bodies, in particular the composition and fate of the fluid generated by hydraulic fracturing processes in deep reservoirs [3][4][5].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Geochemical Characteristics of Shallow Groundwater in Jiaoshiba Shale Gas Production Area: Implications for Environmental Concerns

Huang

Pang

et al. 2016

Water

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Abstract:The geochemical characteristics of shallow groundwater are essential for environmental impact studies in the shale gas production area. Jiaoshiba in the Sichuan basin is the first commercial-scale shale gas production area in China. This paper studied the geochemical and isotopic characteristics of the shallow groundwater of the area for future environmental concerns. Results show that the average pH of the shallow groundwater is 7.5 and the total dissolved solids (TDS) vary from 150 mg/L to 350 mg/L. The main water types are HCO 3 -Ca and HCO 3 -Ca·Mg due to the carbonates dissolution equilibrium in karst aquifers. The concentrations of major ions and typical toxic elements including Mn, Cr, Cu, Zn, Ba, and Pb are below the drinking water standard of China and are safe for use as drinking water. The high nitrate content is inferred to be caused by agricultural pollution. The shallow groundwater is recharged by local precipitation and flows in the vertical circulation zone. Evidences from low TDS, water isotopes, and high 3 H and 14 C indicate that the circulation rate of shallow groundwater is rapid, and the lateral groundwater has strong renewability. Once groundwater pollution from deep shale gas production occurs, it will be recovered soon by enough precipitation.

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Laboratory and field analysis of flowback water from gas shales

Cited by 100 publications

References 18 publications

A critical review of water uptake by shales

A critical review of water uptake by shales

Thermogravimetry as a tool for measuring of fracturing fluid absorption in shales

Geochemical Characteristics of Shallow Groundwater in Jiaoshiba Shale Gas Production Area: Implications for Environmental Concerns

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