Tag: Methane Gas

Green Completions Help the Environment and Industry

It is no secret that EPA and many environmental groups are worried about the level of emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) and the cumulative effects of rising amounts of GHG on our environment. Many recent regulations have been issued by EPA and lawsuits filed by environmental groups to try and reduce those emissions from various industry categories. Oil and gas exploration and production activities have been specifically targeted for special scrutiny because that industry has been deemed to be a significant source of such emissions.

Methane is a potent GHG. In fact, EPA currently rates methane as having twenty-five times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Since natural gas is primarily methane, EPA has focused some of its recent efforts in rule-making to curtailing the release of natural gas/methane from natural gas well completion activities associated with hydraulically fracturing, or fracking. However, while additional regulation is usually burdensome to the point where the costs outweigh potential benefits, these regulations may actually create discernible savings and profits for industry. Continue reading “Green Completions Help the Environment and Industry” →

Stray Gas Methane – The Next Big Problem?

Methane has been identified in drinking water wells and/or the basements of homes in Pennsylvania and other places. Some have loudly claimed that the mere presence of methane is proof that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas has contaminated water supplies and put people at risk. Others have begun to research the potential sources of stray gas methane and have arrived at a different, more scientifically based, explanation. In doing so, they have raised a new concern which may foster a wave of litigation against oil and gas drillers and operators.

Methane is an odorless and colorless gas and is the primary component of natural gas. Stray gas methane is a natural hydrocarbon which has migrated for various reasons from its original location in the subsurface into the atmosphere, shallow groundwater, drinking water supplies, or enclosed spaces. Stray gas methane is of two types: thermogenic or biogenic. Thermogenic gas is formed during the ancient deposition of organic material and its subsequent heating through pressure. Although mostly methane, it also includes ethane, propane, and butane. It is commonly associated with subsurface oil and gas deposits. Biogenic gas is almost all methane, is formed by microbial fermentation of organic matter in the near surface, and is not associated with oil and gas deposits. Continue reading “Stray Gas Methane – The Next Big Problem?” →