The Utica Shale and gas play in southern Quebec: Geological and hydrogeological syntheses and methodological approaches to groundwater risk evaluation

Lavoie, Denis; Rivard, Christine; Lefebvre, René; Séjourné, Stephan; Thériault, R. J.; Duchesne, Mathieu J.; Ahad, Jason M. E.; Wang, Baolin; Benoît, Nicolas; Lamontagne, Charles

doi:10.1016/j.coal.2013.10.011

Cited by 58 publications

(43 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Since groundwater decontamination is difficult, or nearly impossible, it is also essential to evaluate exploration and production conditions that would prevent or at least minimize risks of groundwater contamination . Lavoie et al (2014) also state that, despite the fact that groundwater resources may be relatively well characterised in some regions, there is currently no recognised method to evaluate the vulnerability or risks to aquifers resulting from hydrocarbon industry operations carried out at great depths. In the South African interactive groundwater vulnerability map, geological structures were included as a map overlay in an attempt to address this issue on a regional scale.…”

Section: Indicatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a groundwater vulnerability map for unconventional oil and gas extraction: a case study from South Africa

Esterhuyse

2017

Environ Earth Sci

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Some of the most important issues surrounding unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction are the possible impacts of this activity on potable groundwater resources and how to minimise and mitigate such impacts. A groundwater vulnerability map for UOG extraction has been developed as part of an interactive vulnerability map for South Africa in an effort to address such concerns and minimize possible future impacts linked to UOG extraction. This article describes the development of the groundwater theme of the interactive vulnerability map and highlights important aspects that were considered during the development of this map, which would also be of concern to other countries that may plan to embark on UOG extraction. The policy implications of the groundwater vulnerability map for managing UOG extraction impacts is also highlighted in this article.

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Section: Indicatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Developing a groundwater vulnerability map for unconventional oil and gas extraction: a case study from South Africa

Esterhuyse

2017

Environ Earth Sci

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“…The important shales in Canada are shown in Figure 5-4. Gas production from the Utica Shale in Quebec, Canada was placed under a moratorium until the possible risks for groundwater contamination could be evaluated [25]. Total number of wells drilled yearly for unconventional hydrocarbon per year in Canada and yearly production of shale gas for British Columbia [24].…”

Section: Current Status Of Shale Gas Developmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Transfer of CO 2 from the gas phase to the aqueous phase would be slow if it were only driven by diffusion. However, dissolution of CO2 in water forms a mixture that is denser than the original water or brine [25].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The figure shows that, although natural convection enhances the transfer rate in water-saturated porous media, its enhancement is less than in a bulk liquid. Okhotsimskiis et al [25] visualized the convective currents in a binary CO2-water system and qualitatively evaluated the experimental results, based on Marangoni and free (or natural) convection effects, in bulk modules of gas and liquid. More recently, Kneafsey and Pruess [26] visualized the occurrence of fingers in the CO2-water system at low pressures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerns about rising concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere have led to many experimental [16,[21][22][23][24][25] and numerical studies [26][27][28][29][30][31][32] aimed to store anthropogenic CO2 in the geological formations [33][34][35]. Methods proposed to reduce CO 2 emission include its storage in saline aquifers, depleted gas and oil reservoirs or unminable coal seams [14,21,36,37].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mechanisms for CO2 Sequestration in Geological Formations and Enhanced Gas Recovery

Khosrokhavar¹

2016

Springer Theses

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Numerical investigation of methane and formation fluid leakage along the casing of a decommissioned shale gas well

Nowamooz

Lemieux

Molson

et al. 2015

Water Resources Research

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Methane and brine leakage rates and associated time scales along the cemented casing of a hypothetical decommissioned shale gas well have been assessed with a multiphase flow and multicomponent numerical model. The conceptual model used for the simulations assumes that the target shale formation is 200 m thick, overlain by a 750 m thick caprock, which is in turn overlain by a 50 m thick surficial sand aquifer, the 1000 m geological sequence being intersected by a fully penetrating borehole. This succession of geological units is representative of the region targeted for shale gas exploration in the St. Lawrence Lowlands (Qu ebec, Canada). The simulations aimed at assessing the impact of well casing cementation quality on methane and brine leakage at the base of a surficial aquifer. The leakage of fluids can subsequently lead to the contamination of groundwater resources and/or, in the case of methane migration to ground surface, to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions. The minimum reported surface casing vent flow (measured at ground level) for shale gas wells in Quebec (0.01 m 3 /d) is used as a reference to evaluate the impact of well casing cementation quality on methane and brine migration. The simulations suggest that an adequately cemented borehole (with a casing annulus permeability k c 1 mD) can prevent methane and brine leakage over a time scale of up to 100 years. However, a poorly cemented borehole (k c ! 10 mD) could yield methane leakage rates at the base of an aquifer ranging from 0.04 m 3 /d to more than 100 m 3 /d, depending on the permeability of the target shale gas formation after abandonment and on the quantity of mobile gas in the formation. These values are compatible with surface casing vent flows reported for shale gas wells in the St. Lawrence Lowlands (Quebec, Canada). The simulated travel time of methane from the target shale formation to the surficial aquifer is between a few months and 30 years, depending on cementation quality and hydrodynamic properties of the casing annulus. Simulated longterm brine leakage rates after 100 years for poorly cemented boreholes are on the order of 10 25 m 3 /d (10 mL/d) to 10 23 m 3 /d (1 L/d). Based on scoping calculations with a well-mixed aquifer model, these rates are unlikely to have a major impact on groundwater quality in a confined aquifer since they would only increase the chloride concentration in a pristine aquifer to 1 mg/L, which is significantly below the commonly recommended aesthetic objective of 250 mg/L for chloride.

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The Utica Shale and gas play in southern Quebec: Geological and hydrogeological syntheses and methodological approaches to groundwater risk evaluation

Cited by 58 publications

References 31 publications

Developing a groundwater vulnerability map for unconventional oil and gas extraction: a case study from South Africa

Developing a groundwater vulnerability map for unconventional oil and gas extraction: a case study from South Africa

Mechanisms for CO2 Sequestration in Geological Formations and Enhanced Gas Recovery

Numerical investigation of methane and formation fluid leakage along the casing of a decommissioned shale gas well

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