Marcellus Shale - Opportunities ahead...

Great information for those looking for opportunities in different fields. From transportation to enegy, without forgetting about environmental.

Marcellus Shale

Information provided by Dave Yoxtheimer, Penn State University, Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research  (August 2011)

General Marcellus Shale Facts

·       The Marcellus Shale region covers 95,000 square miles which encompasses 6 states. Of these states, Pennsylvania covers the most area

·       The shale is found at 9,000 feet deep and is only 250 feet thick

·       500 Trillion cubic feet of gas is recoverable over its life

·       Marcellus Shale could supply current US demand for 20+ years

·       Natural gas is used for 50% of home heating currently

·       Natural gas is the cleanest burning fossil fuel

·       There are two dozen shale plays across the US

·       Marcellus Shale is the second largest gas play in the world, second only to the oil field in Iran/Qatar

·       Utica Shale can be found 2,000-3,000 feet below the Marcellus Shale

·       Dry Gas

o   More pure methane

o   Found more in eastern PA

o   Highest yield is in Bradford County; also located in Tioga and Susquehanna Counties

·       Wet gas

o   Contains methane, ethane, propane, butane

o   Costs more to refine but has more commodities available for individual sale, such as plastics

o   Found more in western PA

o   Washington, Green and Fayette counties have large supplies of wet gas

·       In the first 2 – 3 years of the well being tapped, approximately 50% of the gas is recovered

·       Permits take approximately 1 month

·       Transportation is a major expense

Marcellus Shale Drilling

·        3,600 wells drilled to date. Less than half of these are online and producing due to economics

·       1,600 Marcellus wells currently in operation

·       3,000 -4,000 wells per year drilled are predicted

·       Marcellus Shale pads

o   Generally require 6 acres to be cleared

o   Actual well pad is 3-4 acres for equipment and wells on one footprint

o   One pad can hold 6-12 wells, each accessing 2 square miles from one well pad

·       Extra casing and concrete is used closer to the top of the well to protect ground water area

·       Hydrochloric acid is used to clean the well bore to reduce friction in drilling

·       It takes approximately 6 months to build and drill the well

Water Used and Treatment in Marcellus Shale Drilling

·       Almost 2/3 of daily water use is for thermoelectric water

·       8 – 10 Million gallons of water is used each day for fracking

·       10-20% of water used in fracking returns to the surface

·       Flow back treatment options

o   Direct reuse

o   Onsite treatment with reuse

o   Offsite treatment with reuse

o   Offsite treatment and disposal

·       Chemical precipitation, evaporation and filtration are some technologies being used for treatment

·       Approximately 2/3 of the water that returns to the surface is treated, recycled and reused

·       Great opportunity lies with water treatment and varying technologies and sites

·       Pennsylvania does not permit deep underground injection; no disposal into deep wells.

·       May 2011- Governor Corbett mandated that water treatment facilities must properly and adequately treat the fracking water. As a result, several water treatment facilities across PA did not meet these new standards. Only four facilities did of the 20 that were previously in operation; three in the northeastern PA and only one in southwestern PA.

·       Eureka Resources Plant in Williamsport is the only PA plant that can discharge to a stream because of high level of treatment

·       Three other water treatment facilities in PA are permitted to treat Marcellus Shale fracking water and give it back to the industry for reuse

o   Tara Aqua (Williamsport)

o   Blosburg (Tioga county)

o   Reserved Environmental Services Plant (Westmoreland county)

·       2 Million gallons per day of treatment capacity at permanent treatment facility now. This is only 50% capacity

·       There are mobile treatment units available and in use in the field as an alternative to the four qualified permanent water treatment facilities located across the state

·       Mobile units for water treatment are loosely regulated by the state currently

·       Approximately 25-35 mobile units in the field now

·       Taking out metals in water treatment costs:

o   $0.10-$0.15 / gallon – taking out metals for reuse by industry

o   $0.25-$0.30 / gallon – talking out metals and treating the remaining water for return to streams

·       Disposal of fracking water

o   Deep injection sites in Ohio, which is below Marcellus Shale level

o   Sludge is dewatered and taken to landfills that can track radiation levels

·       Water management plan is part of the permitting process

·       Wastewater treatment plans are subcontracted as part of the plan. They also must have a plan (and usually another subcontractor) for disposal of water or sludge

Other opportunities

·       Cracker plant – converts gas to ethane to ethylene for plastics manufacturing

·       Steel making and refractory industries are growing as a result of wet gas

·       Subcontractors

o   Transportation of fracking water

o   Water treatment and new technologies

o   Sludge disposal