Volatile organic compound emissions from the oil and natural gas industry in the Uintah Basin, Utah: oil and gas well pad emissions compared to ambient air composition
Atmos Chem Phys
17 Oct 2014
C. Warneke, F. Geiger, P. M. Edwards, W. Dube, G. Pétron, J. Kofler, A. Zahn, S. S. Brown, M. Graus, J. B. Gilman, B. M. Lerner, J. Peischl, T. B. Ryerson, J. A. de Gouw, and J. M. Roberts
Study presents some of the first air "measurements using fast-response VOC instruments to look at individual gas and oil well pads and other point sources associated with oil and natural gas production"
Noble gases identify the mechanisms of fugitive gas contamination in drinking water wells overlying the Marcellus and Barnett Shales
PNAS
TBD
Thomas H. Darrah, Avner Vengosh, Robert B. Jackson, Nathaniel R. Warner, and Robert J. Poreda
Researchers examine hydrocarbon abundance and isotopic compositions to assess whether elevated levels of hydrocarbon gas in drinking water aquifers near gas wells are natural or anthropogenic, and the mechanisms of fugitive gas contamination.
Robert B. Jackson, Avner Vengosh, J. William Carey, Richard J. Davies, Thomas H. Darrah, Francis O'Sullivan, and Gabrielle Pétron
A comprehensive review of the environmental consequences of unconventional energy extraction and hydraulic fracturing, including production estimates, water intensity, issues of well integrity and potential leakage of chemicals, brines, or gases, water quality, the potential for induced seismicity and the life-cycle emissions of hydrocarbons.
Assessment and risk analysis of casing and cement impairment in oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania, 2000–2012
PNAS
30 Jun 2014
Anthony R. Ingraffea, Martin T. Wells, Renee L. Santoro, and Seth B. C. Shonkoff
Previous research has demonstrated that proximity to unconventional gas development is associated with elevated concentrations of methane in groundwater aquifers in Pennsylvania. To date, the mechanism of this migration is poorly understood. Our study, which looks at more than 41,000 conventional and unconventional oil and gas wells, helps to explain one possible mechanism of methane migration: compromised structural integrity of casing and cement in oil and gas wells. Additionally, methane, being the primary constituent of natural gas, is a strong greenhouse gas. The identification of mechanisms through which methane may migrate to the atmosphere as fugitive emissions is important to understand the climate dimensions of oil and gas development.
A new look at methane and non-methane hydrocarbon emissions from oil and natural gas operations in the Colorado Denver-Julesburg Basin
Journal of Geophysical Research - Atmospheres
08 May 2014
Gabrielle Pétron, Anna Karion, Colm Sweeney, Benjamin R. Miller, Stephen A. Montzka, Gregory Frost, Michael Trainer, Pieter Tans, Arlyn Andrews, Jonathan Kofler, Detlev Helmig, Douglas Guenther, Ed Dlugokencky, Patricia Lang, Tim Newberger, Sonja Wolter,
The study revisits the estimates of hydrocarbon emissions from an oil and gas basin using airborne measurements and finds that inventories underestimate hydrocarbon emissions in the basin by a factor of 2 or more.
Spatially Explicit Methane Emissions from Petroleum Production and the Natural Gas System in California
Environmental Science & Technology
23 Apr 2014
Seongeun Jeong,* Dev Millstein, and Marc L. Fischer
This study presents a spatially-resolved methane inventory for the state of California based on EPA emission factors and compares the estimated emissions to atmospheric measurements. The study finds that the EPA's methane emission estimates for natural gas transmission and distribution are too low by a factor of 2.