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The Marcellus tight gas shale represents a significant resource within the northeastern United States. It is both a large reserve, with an estimated 30 to 300 TCF of recoverable gas, and is close to some of the largest prospective markets in the country. However, production is fraught with technological obstacles, the most significant of which include prospecting, access by drilling, stimulation, and recovery. Prospecting is difficult because viability of the reservoir relies both on the original gas in place and in the ability to access that gas through pre-existing fractures that may be developed through stimulation. Drilling is a challenge since drilling costs typically comprise 50% of the cost of the wells and...
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The input form provides a record of the complete input values required for the quantitative assessment of water and proppant associated with oil and gas production for the continuous oil and gas resource in a geologically defined Assessment Unit, and the same form template is used for all such assessments. Each USGS water and proppant assessment builds from a USGS petroleum assessment that provides the geologic foundation for the water and proppant assessment. Assessment units are defined in the course of conducting the petroleum assessment.
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This dataset represents sedimentary basins associated with the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) shale plays as of May 6, 2011. A play is a set of known or postulated oil and gas accumulations sharing similar geologic, geographic, and temporal properties, such as source rock, migration pathway, timing, trapping mechanism, and hydrocarbon type. A play is often used to refer to a natural gas accumulation; in this case a natural gas shale play. Shale gas is produced from wells that are open to shale formations. Shale is a fine-grained, sedimentary rock composed of mud from flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other materials. Land containing shale are susceptible to hyrdaulic...
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The Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Laboratory (MSEEL) field site in Morgantown, WV was established by West Virginia University in order to increase understanding of factors that affect resource recovery and environmental impacts from unconventional oil and gas development. The site, which is located in the Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP) adjacent to the Monongahela River, includes one well pad which hosts four horizontal gas wells that target the Marcellus Shale approximately 7400 ft below ground level. As part of the MSEEL study, the MIP 5H well was drilled in 2015. Water samples were collected from the holding pond used to hydraulically fracture the MIP 5H well (API 47-061-01699), and a time series...
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The Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) is part of the Northeast Natural Energy LLC (NNE) production facility on the Monongahela River in Monongalia County, West Virginia, USA. Natural gas extraction in the area creates large volumes of wastewater that may contain chemical compounds that pose risks to humans, animals, and the environment. The U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) has been studying the organic compounds in water produced from shale gas wells and in 2014, NNE started drilling two production wells in the Marcellus Shale. The well, MIP (Morgantown Industrial Park) -5H, was completed the following year. Samples were collected from this well. Large volumes of wastewater fluids were produced...
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This dataset contains compositional data on 17 produced water samples from hydraulically fractured unconventional oil wells completed in the Middle Bakken and Three Forks Formations. The oil wells are located in five different wellfields across the Williston Basin. Specific gravity, conductivity, temperature, pH and oxidation-reduction potential for each sample was measured in the field. Ions (B, Li, Cl, Na, Br), biomarkers (Pristane /n-C17 and Phytane /n-C18), glycol ether compounds, major ions, as well as radium (Ra-228/Ra-226), boron (δ11B), oxygen (δ18O) and hydrogen (δ2H) isotopic ratios were analyzed in the lab. Well profiles are provided to increase understanding of the produced waters compositions in the...
In petroleum industry, the difference between pore pressure (Pp) and minimum horizontal stress Sh (termed the seal or retention capacity) is of major consideration because it is often assumed to represent how close a system is to hydraulic failure and thus the maximum hydrocarbon column height that can be maintained. While Sh and Pp are often considered to be independent parameters, several studies in the last decade have demonstrated that Sh and Pp are in fact coupled. However, the nature of this coupling relationship remains poorly understood. In this paper, we explore the influences of the spatial pore pressure distribution on Sh/Pp coupling and then on failure pressure predictions and trap integrity evaluation....
Traditional hydraulic fracturing techniques generally form main hydraulic cracks and airfoil branch fissures, but main hydraulic cracks are relatively few in number. Hydraulic fracturing after water pressure control blasting can transform the structure of coal and rock mass. Experiments prove that it is an effective method for increasing the number and range of hydraulic cracks, as well as for improving the permeability of coal seams. The technical principle is as follows. First, a hole is drilled in the coal seam and is injected with a gel explosive (a mining water-proof explosive). Then, water is injected into the hole to seal it, at low enough pressure to prevent cracks from forming. Third, water pressure blasting...
Excessive water production (more than 7000 bbl/month per well) from many coalbed methane (CBM) wells in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming is also associated with significant delays in the time it takes for gas production to begin. Analysis of about 550 water-enhancement activities carried out during well completion demonstrates that such activities result in hydraulic fracturing of the coal. Water-enhancement activities, as the operators in the basin call this procedure, consists of pumping 60 bbl of water/min into the coal seam during approximately 15 min. This is done to clean the wellbore and to enhance CBM production. Hydraulic fracturing is of concern because vertical hydraulic fracture growth could extend...
Algae are the fastest-growing plants in the world. Industrial reactors for algal culture are open ponds, photobioreactors and closed systems. Algae are very important as a biomass source. Algae will some day be competitive as a source for biofuel. Different species of algae may be better suited for different types of fuel. Algae can be grown almost anywhere, even on sewage or salt water, and does not require fertile land or food crops, and processing requires less energy than the algae provides. Algae can be a replacement for oil based fuels, one that is more effective and has no disadvantages. Algae are among the fastest-growing plants in the world, and about 50% of their weight is oil. This lipid oil can be used...
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In 2015-16, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, conducted a study to assess baseline (2015-16) surface-water quality in six lake basins within the Muskingum River watershed that are in the early years of shale-gas development. Six samples were collected at each of 30 sites to characterize surface-water chemistry over a range of hydrologic conditions. Quality-control (QC) samples collected before and during sampling included blanks and replicates. Blank samples were used to check for contamination during sample collection, processing, equipment cleaning, and/or analysis. Replicate samples were used to determine the reproducibility/variability in the...
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The input form provides a record of the complete input values required for the quantitative assessment of water and proppant associated with oil and gas production for the continuous oil and gas resource in a geologically defined Assessment Unit. The same input form template is used for all such assessments. Each USGS water and proppant assessment builds from a USGS petroleum assessment that provides the geologic foundation and determination of assessment units for the water and proppant assessment.
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A large spill of wastewater from oil and gas operations was discovered adjacent to Blacktail Creek near Williston, North Dakota in January 2015. To determine the effects of this spill on streambed microbial communities over time, bed sediment samples were taken from Blacktail Creek upstream, adjacent to, and at several locations downstream from the spill site. Blacktail Creek is a tributary of the Little Muddy River, and additional samples were taken upstream and downstream from the confluence of Blacktail Creek and the Little Muddy River. Samples were collected in February 2015, June 2015, June 2016, and June 2017. DNA was extracted from these sediments, and sequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene was performed...
The USGS Energy Resources Program (ERP) addresses the challenge of increasing demand for energy sources by conducting basic and applied research on geologic energy resources and on the environmental, economic, and human health impacts of their production and use. The ERP provides reliable and impartial scientific information on geologically based energy resources, including: oil, natural gas, coal, coalbed methane (CBM), gas hydrates, geothermal resources, uranium, oil shale, and bitumen and heavy oil. The Energy Resources Program is also involved in studying the impacts of wind and solar energy development. This community will serve as a primary footprint for Energy Resources Program products, projects, datasets,...
Abandoned mine land (AML) is one of the legacies of historic mining activities, causing a wide range of environmental problems worldwide. A stream monitoring study was conducted for a period of 7 years to evaluate the water quality trend in a Mid-Appalachian watershed, which was heavily impacted by past coal mining and subsequently reclaimed by reforestation and revegetation. GIS tools and multivariate statistical analyses were applied to characterize land cover, to assess temporal trends of the stream conditions, and to examine the linkages between water quality and land cover. In the entire watershed, 15.8% of the land was designated as AML reclaimed by reforestation (4.9%) and revegetation (10.8%). Statistic...
Regional economic impact assessment (REIA) and social impact assessment (SIA) are methodologically close, since REIA provides predictions of change in employment both directly and indirectly resulting from a project, thereby giving some indication of future population changes, derived demand for social services and infrastructure, and the likely regional social mix. There are, however, a number of theoretical difficulties with conventional REIAs. As extrapolations they normally avoid discussion of processes of structural change, which could result in substantial changes within the time horizon of a project. Another issue is the justification for including secondary project impacts in assessing a project's worth....
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In order to determine the innate microbial community of shale gas reservoirs and how they are impacted by hydraulic fracturing, this study analyzed biomass collected from produced water and rock from hydraulically fractured wells in the Utica Shale. The samples include rock chips from a drill core from one Utica well, produced water from that same Utica well, and produced water from 12 different Utica wells that had been in production between 1-5 years, spanning the oil and gas windows of SE Ohio. The samples were filtered for biomass, extracted, amplified, and 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed on the Illumina MiSeq platform.
Hydraulic fracturing is a treatment method used to stimulate production from oil and gas wells. Hydraulic fracturing involves injection of treatment fluids mixed with propping agents under high pressure into perforated portions of the wellbore. This method causes the reservoir rocks to fracture and the hydraulic fracturing fluids and propping agents to enter the fractures. Subsequently, the injected propping agents remain in the fractures while the oil, gas and(or) water flows back to the well head at the surface. This dataset is a compilation of information on the types and amounts of treatment fluids applied to oil and gas onshore wells that were hydraulically fractured in the United States from 2015 through 2019....
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Note: this data release has been superseded by a new version 3.0 published in 2023. Find the new version here: https://doi.org/10.5066/P9DSRCZJ. During hydrocarbon production, water is typically co-produced from the geologic formations producing oil and gas. Understanding the composition of these produced waters is important to help investigate the regional hydrogeology, the source of the water, the efficacy of water treatment and disposal plans, potential economic benefits of mineral commodities in the fluids, and the safety of potential sources of drinking or agricultural water. The U.S. Geological Survey National Produced Waters Geochemical Database v2.3 is an updated compilation of geochemical and related information...
map background search result map search result map Shale Basins, Northeast U.S. Geological Survey National Produced Waters Geochemical Database v2.3 Data from quality-control equipment blanks, field blanks, and field replicates for baseline water quality of an area undergoing shale-gas development in the Muskingum River watershed, Ohio, 2015-16 Microbiology of the Utica Shale Input forms for 2016 water and proppant assessment of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin, USA Input forms for 2019 water and proppant assessment of the Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast, Texas Data on Produced Water Quality and Quantities from Hydraulically Fractured Williston Basin Oil Wells Microbial Community Composition Data from Blacktail Creek near Williston, North Dakota Spatial and Temporal Data on Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Types and Amounts Injected into Oil and Gas Wells Across the U.S., 2015-2019 (In-press) High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data for Wastewater Samples Collected at an on-Site Separator and Storage Tank at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia Organic Compounds Identified via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in Produced Water Samples Collected at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia Organic Compounds Identified via Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry in Produced Water Samples Collected at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry Data for Wastewater Samples Collected at an on-Site Separator and Storage Tank at the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) 2015-2019, Morgantown Industrial Park (MIP), West Virginia Data from quality-control equipment blanks, field blanks, and field replicates for baseline water quality of an area undergoing shale-gas development in the Muskingum River watershed, Ohio, 2015-16 Microbiology of the Utica Shale Data on Produced Water Quality and Quantities from Hydraulically Fractured Williston Basin Oil Wells Input forms for 2016 water and proppant assessment of the Bakken and Three Forks Formations, Williston Basin, USA Input forms for 2019 water and proppant assessment of the Eagle Ford Group, Gulf Coast, Texas Shale Basins, Northeast U.S. Geological Survey National Produced Waters Geochemical Database v2.3 Spatial and Temporal Data on Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Types and Amounts Injected into Oil and Gas Wells Across the U.S., 2015-2019 (In-press)