| Title | An overview of Canadian shale gas production and environmental concerns |
| |
| Author | Rivard, C ;
Lavoie, D; Lefebvre, R; Séjourné, S; Lamontagne, C; Duchesne, M
J |
| Source | International Journal of Coal Geology vol. 126, 2014 p. 64-76, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2013.12.004 |
| Image |  |
| Year | 2014 |
| Alt Series | Earth Sciences Sector, Contribution Series 20130097 |
| Publisher | Elsevier BV |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | paper; on-line; digital |
| File format | pdf |
| Province | British Columbia; Alberta; Saskatchewan; Manitoba; Ontario; Quebec; New Brunswick; Nova Scotia; Prince Edward Island; Newfoundland and Labrador; Northwest Territories; Yukon; Nunavut; Canada |
| NTS | 1; 2; 3; 10; 11; 12; 13; 14; 15; 16; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25; 26; 27; 28; 29; 30; 31; 32; 33; 34; 35; 36; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42; 43; 44; 45; 46; 47; 48; 49; 52; 53; 54; 55; 56; 57; 58; 59; 62; 63; 64; 65;
66; 67; 68; 69; 72; 73; 74; 75; 76; 77; 78; 79; 82; 83; 84; 85; 86; 87; 88; 89; 92; 93; 94; 95; 96; 97; 98; 99; 102; 103; 104; 105; 106; 107; 114O; 114P; 115; 116; 117; 120; 340; 560 |
| Lat/Long WENS | -141.0000 -50.0000 90.0000 41.7500 |
| Subjects | fossil fuels; environmental geology; hydrocarbons; hydrocarbon potential; groundwater; groundwater resources; groundwater pollution; environmental studies; environmental impacts; gas; shales; Horn River
Basin Shales; Duvernay Formation; Frederick Brook Member; Montney Formation; Utica Shale; Paleozoic; Devonian; Carboniferous; Mesozoic; Triassic |
| Illustrations | location maps; tables |
| Program | Environmental
Geoscience Shale Gas - groundwater |
| Released | 2014 06 01 |
| Abstract | The risk of groundwater contamination from shale gas exploration and development is amajor societal concern, especially in populated areas where groundwater is an essential source of drinking water and
for agricultural or industrial use. Since groundwater decontamination is difficult, or nearly impossible, it is essential to evaluate exploration and production conditions that would prevent or at least minimize risks of groundwater contamination.
The current consensus in recent literature is that these risks are primarily related to engineering issues, including casing integrity and surface activities, such as truck traffic (equipment and fluid haulage), waste management (mainly drill
cuttings), andwater storage and treatment when hydraulic fracturing is utilized. Concerns have also been raised with respect to groundwater contamination that could result from potential fracture or fault interconnections between the shale unit and
surficial aquifers, which would allow fracturing fluids and methane to reach the surface away fromthewellbore. Despite the fact that groundwater resources are relatively well characterized in some regions, there is currently no recognizedmethod to
evaluate the vulnerability or risks to aquifers resulting from hydrocarbon industry operations carried out at great depths. This paper focuses on the Utica Shale of the St. Lawrence Platform (Quebec), where an environmental study aiming to evaluate
potential risks for aquifers related to shale gas development has been initiated. To provide the context of these research efforts, this paper describes the regional tectono-stratigraphic evolution and current stress regime of the CambrianSOrdovician
St. Lawrence Platform, aswell as the Utica Shale internal stratigraphy, mineralogy and thermal maturation. Then, the hydrogeological context of the St. Lawrence Platformis discussed. Finally, the methodology for this environmental study, based on
geological, geophysical, geomechanical, hydrogeological and geochemical data, is presented. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
Production of hydrocarbons from Canadian shales started slowly in 2005 and has significantly increased since. Natural gas is mainly being produced from
shales in the Horn River Basin and from the Montney shales and siltstones, both located in northeastern British Columbia and, to a lesser extent, in the Duvernay Formation in Alberta (western Canada). Other shales with natural gas potential are
currently being evaluated, including the Utica Shale in southern Quebec and the Frederick Brook Shale in New Brunswick (eastern Canada). This paper describes the Canadian situation for shale gas exploration and production, including discussions on
geological contexts of main shale formations containing dry gas, water use, types of hydraulic fracturing, public concerns and on-going research efforts. As the environmental debate concerning hydraulic fracturing is rather intense in Quebec, the
Utica Shale context is presented in more details. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 295208 |
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