Process Based Life-Cycle Assessment of Natural Gas from the Marcellus Shale

Dale, Alexander T.; Khanna, Vikas; Vidic, Radisav D.; Bilec, Melissa M.

doi:10.1021/es304414q

Cited by 76 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…well pressure and permeability of the formation) and the energy market, which governs the economic feasibility of production [54]. Different estimates of gas well EUR range 3 orders of magnitude, from 2 million m 3 to 2,500 million m 3 [14,16,17,19,23,28,36,48,134,136]. This is a vital assumption within the estimation of life cycle, longitudinal emissions, as emissions are often expressed in relation to a volume of gas produced (e.g.…”

Section: Estimated Ultimate Recovery Of Wellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Natural Gas Supply Chain: The Importance of Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Balcombe

Anderson

Speirs

et al. 2016

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

128

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Natural gas is typically considered to be the cleaner-burning fossil fuel that could play an important role within a restricted carbon budget. Whilst natural gas emits less CO2 when burned than other fossil fuels, its main constituent is methane, which has a much stronger climate forcing impact than CO2 in the short-term. Estimates of methane emissions in the natural gas supply chain have been the subject of much controversy, due to uncertainties associated with estimation methods, data quality and assumptions used. This paper presents a comprehensive compilation of estimated CO2 and methane emissions across the global natural gas supply chain, with the aim of providing a balanced insight for academia, industry and policy makers by summarising the reported data, locating the areas of major uncertainty and identifying where further work is needed to reduce or remove this uncertainty. Overall, the range of documented estimates of methane emissions across the supply chain is vast amongst an aggregation of different geological formations, technologies, plant age, gas composition and regional regulation, not to mention differences in estimation methods. Estimates of combined methane and CO2 emissions ranged from 2 -42 g CO2 eq./ MJ HHV, whilst methane-only emissions ranged from 0.2% -10% of produced methane. The methane emissions at the extraction stage are the most contentious issue, with limited data available but potentially large impacts associated with well completions for unconventional gas, liquids unloading and also from the transmission stage. From the range of literature estimates, a constrained range of emissions was estimated that reflects the most recent and reliable estimates: total supply chain GHG emissions were estimated to be between 3.6 and 42.4 g CO2 eq./ MJ HHV, with a central estimate of 10.5. The presence of 'super emitters', a small number of facilities or equipment that cause extremely high emissions, is found across all supply chain stages creating a highly skewed emissions distribution. However, various new technologies, mitigation and maintenance approaches, and legislation are driving significant reductions in methane leakage across the natural gas supply chain.

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Section: Estimated Ultimate Recovery Of Wellsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Natural Gas Supply Chain: The Importance of Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Balcombe

Anderson

Speirs

et al. 2016

ACS Sustainable Chem. Eng.

128

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“…Method A has been most widely used by researchers to calculate the EROI of a project or a well (Aucott and Melillo 2013;Dale et al 2013). Using Method A, we can obtain the total EROI of a well because all of the energy inputs are considered, while the change in EROI caused by the depletion of the well (as production increases in a well, more energy is necessary for maintenance and operation to extract the same gas) cannot be observed as easily and clearly.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Energy return on investment, energy payback time, and greenhouse gas emissions of coal seam gas (CSG) production in China: a case of the Fanzhuang CSG project

Kong

Dong

et al. 2017

Pet. Sci.

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The studies and development of coal seam gas (CSG) have been conducted for more than 30 years in China, but few of China's CSG projects have achieved large-scale commercial success; faced with the boom of shale gas, some investors are beginning to lose patience and confidence in CSG. China currently faces the following question: Should the government continue to vigorously support the development of the CSG industry? To provide a reference for policy makers and investors, this paper calculates the EROI stnd [a standardized energy return on investment (EROI) method], EROI ide (the maximum theoretical EROI), EROI 3,i (EROI considering the energy investment in transport), and EROI 3,1?e (EROI with environmental inputs) of a single vertical CSG well in the Fanzhuang CSG project in the Qinshui Basin. The energy payback time (EPT) and the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of the CSG systems are also calculated. The results show that over a 15-year lifetime, EROI stnd , EROI ide , EROI 3,1 , and EROI 3,1?e are expected to deliver EROIs of approximately 11:1, 20:1, 7:1, and 6:1, respectively. The EPT within different boundaries is no more than 2 years, and the life-cycle GHG emissions are approximately 18.8 million kg CO 2 equivalent. The relatively high EROI and short EPT indicate that the government should take more positive measures to promote the development of the CSG industry.

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“…Global warming potential (GWP)ofshale gas used for electricity generation. CCGT:combined cycle gas turbine; [9,54,58,[74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84] SCGT:s inglecycle gas turbine. [74][75][76][77][78][79] cles.…”

Section: Other Air Emissions and Impactsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shale Gas: A Review of the Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

2016

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The growth of the shale gas industry in the US has raised expectations that other nations could boost domestic gas production, leading to lower energy prices and improved energy security. However, the degree to which the US experience is transferable to other countries is uncertain. Furthermore, sustainability implications of shale gas development remain largely unknown. In an attempt to find out if and how shale gas could be exploited in a sustainable way, this paper reviews the economic, environmental, and social aspects of shale gas. These include costs, energy security, employment, water and land pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, earthquakes, and public perception. The literature suggests that it is possible to develop shale gas in a sustainable way, but its future will depend on the industry being able to address the environmental concerns, the political will to see the industry through to maturity, and public support, with the latter most likely being the biggest determinant.

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Process Based Life-Cycle Assessment of Natural Gas from the Marcellus Shale

Cited by 76 publications

References 37 publications

The Natural Gas Supply Chain: The Importance of Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

The Natural Gas Supply Chain: The Importance of Methane and Carbon Dioxide Emissions

Energy return on investment, energy payback time, and greenhouse gas emissions of coal seam gas (CSG) production in China: a case of the Fanzhuang CSG project

Shale Gas: A Review of the Economic, Environmental, and Social Sustainability

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