WorldWide Drilling Resource

Oil and Natural Gas Investments Help Reduce Carbon Adapted from Information Provided by API According to a new study released by the American Petroleum Institute (API), oil and natural gas companies are America’s leading investors in zero- and low-greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) technologies. “America’s oil and natural gas com- panies have invested more to reduce greenhouse gas emissions than the federal government and almost as much as all other industries combined,” said API Vice President for Pol icy and Economic Analysis Kyle Isakower. “The industry is aggressively pursuing new technologies and game-changing ener- gy research that will fuel innovation for years to come. These investments not only lower carbon emissions, they cre- ate jobs and advance America’s tech- nological competitiveness.” The API study conducted by T 2 and Associates analyzed investments in GHG mitigation technologies from 2000-2012. The U.S. oil and natural gas industry directly invested around $81 million during the study period. The federal government invested about $79.7 billion and other U.S. industries invested an estimated $91.2 billion. 34 NOVEMBER 2013 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® reduce emissions.” Measurements of active equipment at 150 production sites with 489 wells, 27 well completion flowbacks, 9 well un- loadings, and 4 well workovers were in- cluded in the study. The types of sources measured account for two-thirds of meth- ane emissions occurring during natural gas production. One highlight of the study included measured emissions from completion flowbacks. “The net emissions for com- pletion flowbacks is significantly lower than previous estimates, indicating the type of emission control activities ob- served during these events are very effective,” Allen said. UT Study cont’d from page 33. The oil and natural gas industry in- vested $11.4 billion, or one out of every six dollars, in nonhydrocarbon resources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass technologies. Methods to re- use excess heat from refineries and permanently isolate carbon dioxide have also been adopted by the industry. These methods along with investments en- abled the U.S. oil and natural gas in- dustry to directly reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 10.8 million cars off the road. API is a national trade association representing all segments of America’s technology-driven oil and gas industry, which supports 9.8 million U.S. jobs and 8% of the U.S. economy. The industry delivers $85 million in revenue each day to the government and since 2000, has invested over $2 trillion in U.S. capital projects to advance all forms of energy, including alternatives. Report Indicates Hydraulic Fracturing not a Factor in Earthquakes Adapted from Information by Durham University A new study from England, Induced Seismicity and the Hydraulic Fracturing of Low Permeability Sedimentary Rocks determined hydraulic fracturing is not sig- nificant in causing earthquakes. The report, led by Durham University, studied hundreds of thousands of hy- draulic fracturing operations and discov- ered the process only caused tremors which could be felt on the surface in three cases. In fact, nearly all of the seismic activity was on such a small scale, only geoscientists would be able to detect it. Professor Richard Davies from Durham Energy Institute explained, “We have examined not just fracking-relat- ed occurrences but all induced earth- quakes - that is, those caused by human activity - since 1929. It is worth bearing in mind that other industrial-scale processes can trigger earthquakes including mining, filling reser- voi rs wi th water, and the production of oil and gas. Even one of our cleanest forms of energy, geothermal, has some form in this respect.” Overall, the size and number of earth- quakes caused by hydraulic fracturing is low compared to other man-made trig- gers. Earthquakes caused by mining can range from a magnitude of 1.6-5.6, re- servoir filling from 2.0-7.9, and waste disposal from 2.0-5.7. Of the three frack- ing-related quakes that could be felt, even the largest ever, in the Horn River Basin in Canada in 2011, only had a magnitude of 3.8. This is at the lower end of the range which can be felt by people. According to Davies, “Most fracking- related events release a negligible amount of energy roughly equivalent to or even less than someone jumping off a ladder onto the floor.” Although it is unlikely for anyone to feel an earthquake caused by hydraulic fracturing, it cannot be ruled out. “We can- not see every fault underground and therefore cannot completely discount the possibility of the process causing a small felt earthquake, but there are ways to further mitigate against the possibility. The oil and gas industry can avoid faults that are critically stressed and already near breaking point,” Davies stated.