global shale 27-6-2014
TRANSCRIPT
Shale Gas around the Globe:
Exploration, Production & Potential
NGC/ NE Trainee: Kerilene Pierre(MSc. Petroleum Engineering Candidate)
Supervised byMr. Andrew Jupiter(Consultant to NGC/ NE)
Period:16th-27th June, 2014 (Weeks 3 & 4)
ContentIntroduction to Shale Gas:
What is Shale, Shale gas and Shale Oil?Unconventional versus Conventional ReservoirsHydraulic Fracturing & Horizontal Drilling
Shale & the Environment
Exploration, Production And Potential
Global Forecasts for Shale Gas
Conclusion
What is Shale?Shales:
-fine-grained, clastic sedimentary rocks composed of mud -a mix of flakes of clay minerals and tiny fragments (silt-sized particles) of other minerals, especially quartz and calcite.
-the ratio of clay to other minerals is variable-characterized by breaks along thin laminae/ parallel layering/ bedding less than one centimeter in thickness, called fissility (Blatt et al., 1996)
What is Shale oil and Shale gas?Shale is a good source and reservoir rock for hydrocarbons due to
-moderate to high porosity -and low permeability
Therefore, natural gas and petroleum can be derived from shale.
This gas and oil is referred to as Shale gas & Shale oil
Unconventional shale gas reserves are significantly more than conventional gas reserves in several countries.
Shale gas versus Conventional gas
Unconventional Shale reservoirs Conventional reservoir
Hydrocarbons trapped in smaller pore spaces. Migration only occurs through natural or artificial cracks as shale has low permeability
Hydrocarbons squeeze between porous rock with mod to high porosity and mod to high permeability
Do not need a trap or seal as the shale rock itself acts as a trap/ seal
Seal or trap present to prevent migration of oil
Unconventional versus Conventional
Hydraulic Fracturinga 50 year-old technology
Water, chemicals and sand are pumped into the well
They serve to unlock trapped hydrocarbons-by opening cracks and fissures in the rock
Natural gas can then flow from the shale into the well
Assists in making shale extraction reasonable in terms of cost- Flow rate high enough to justify drilling costs (250% more costly than drilling a conventional reservoir)
Horizontal Drilling-Provides greater access to gas trapped deep in the formation
-A vertical well is drilled to target the rock formation
-At the desired depth, the drill bit bores the well horizontally through the reservoir
-Exposing the well to more producing shale
Assists the flow rate, making it high enough to justify drilling costs (250% more costly than drilling a conventional reservoir)
Shale And the Environment- Shale gas is natural gas, a cleaner burning than coal or oil.
Challenges for the Environment- drilling and fracturing of wells requires large amounts of water Thereby reducing water availability for habitats etc.- Large amounts of toxic wastewater- Waste water must be treated before reuse or disposal- Possibilty of spillage/ leakage of toxic waste- Contamination of surrounding areas
Europe’s Environmental Concerns In Britain , testing of its first well led to: minor earthquakes, a moratorium on fracking, and a firestorm of protest, giving rise to perhaps Europe's best-known anti-fracking group, Frack Off.’’
Europe: has higher population density than the states. Contamination of the water table and the drilling of many more wells will inconvenience many citizens.
Germany and France: resistant to a shale industry. France has banned it since 2011Poland and Britain: supported early stages of the shale industry. Poland may advance it in hopes of saving their economy
Exploration, Production And Potential-Shale gas discovered in USA, South America, China, Libya & Australia-Commercial quantities in US, Mexico, Canada & China-Significant shale gas production in USA & Canada
Chart 1: Estimated global shale gas technically recoverable resources (Tcf) (USEIA Report Summary, 2011)
2010: 6609 TCF proven shale gas reserves2013: 7299 TCF proven shale gas reserves
North America And ShaleUS shale plays, Marcellus & Utica Shale plays, are potentially rich in fossil fuels.
There has been a ramp up in the E&P of US Shale plays:With the transferring of hyrdofracking technology from the Barnett shale play to other plays seen in Chart 2
Also, population centres are within close proximity to Marcellus and Utica plays lowering the cost of transporting natural gas to the Northeast market.
In Canada, shale gas E & P in Alberta, Ontario, Nova Scotia, Quebec, British Columbia, New Brunswick & Saskatchewan
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Global Forecasts for Shale Gas• Further development of shale production in Mexico, Canada &
the USA.
• Potential shale production in commercial quantities: North Africa, South Africa, China, India, Pakistan & Australia
In the USA:• Marcellus & Utica plays can potentially be key suppliers to
America’s domestic natural gas
• Shale gas production in the US: -will increase employment & wages in the industry
Chart 3: US Natural Gas Production Forecast (EIA Annual Energy Outlook, 2011)
2010: 23% shale gas & 77% other gases2035: 49% shale gas & 51% other gases
US Natural Gas Production
Trinidad & Tobago And Shale• Leading producer of natural gas in the Caribbean
• Natural gas exports account for 40-50% of the country’s revenue
• 50% of US LNG comes from T&T
• Production of shale gas in North America is threatening the demand for T&T’s natural gas
• T&T has found alternative markets
Trinidad & Tobago And Shale• Officials are optimistic about shale production on a commercial
level for T&T:
-President of GSTT, Helena Inniss-King says there has already been discoveries of shale gas in the Naparima hill formation
-Petroleum Consultant, Krishna Persad, says he is sure shale gas exists in commercial quantities
• Currently there are no confirmed notable discoveries of shale gas
Conclusion
• Unconventional shale gas has been discovered worldwide
• Technological advancements have made shale gas accessible and secured natural gas production for North America
• Trinidad and Tobago is feverishly seeking to secure alternative markets
• Globally, shale gas production is new and has high potential
BHP Billiton Petroleum, 2014 “BHP Billiton Petroleum: The New Era of Shale.” Supplement to Oil & Gas Journal. Houston, Texas.Blatt, Harvey and Robert, Tracy J., 1996. “Petrology: Igneous, Sedimentary and Metamorphic, 2nd ed.”, Freeman, pp. 281–292 ISBN 0-7167-2438-3EIA Annual Energy Outlook & USEIA Report Summary, 2011. “US Natural Gas Production” Fin, A., 2011. “EIA releases Worldwide Shale Gas Resource Report.” http://oilprice.com/Energy/Natural-Gas/EIA-Releases-Worldwide-Shale-Gas-Resource-Report.html (Accessed 17th June, 2014.)Geology.com, 2014. “What is Shale Gas?” http://geology.com/energy/shale-gas/ (Accessed 16th June, 2014)Guardian, 2014. “Geological Society, consultant say: T&T has shale gas.” https://m.guardian.co.tt/business-guardian/2013-07-04/geological-society-consultant-say-tt%E2%80%88has-shale-gas ( Accessed 18nd June, 2014.)Lignet.com, 2012. “US Shale Gas Boom Forces Trinidad to Regroup” http://www.lignet.com/ArticleAnalysis/US-Shale-Gas-Boom-Forces-Trinidad-and-Tobago-to-Re#ixzz350NQJ0yd ( Accessed 18th June, 2014.)Llana, S. M., 2013. ‘As Poland’s fracking furture turns cloudy, so does Europe’s’. The Christian Science Monitor. http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0724/As-Poland-s-fracking-future-turns-cloudy-so-does-Europe-s (Accessed 26th June, 2014)ShaleTEC, 2014. “What is Shale Gas?” http://www.shaletec.org/whatis.htm (Accessed 16th June, 2014)Williams, S., 2012. “Discovering Shale Gas: An Investor Guide to Hydraulic Fracturing” http://www.irrcinstitute.org/pdf/IRRC_An-Investor-Guide-to-Hydraulic-Fracturing.pdf ( Accessed 22nd June, 2014.)
References