| Title | Assessing groundwater vulnerability to shale gas activities in the Sussex area, southern New Brunswick / Évaluation de la vulnérabilité des aquifères à l'exploitation du gaz de shale dans la région de
Sussex dans le sud du Nouveau-Brunswick |
| Download | Download (whole publication) |
| |
| Licence | Please note the adoption of the Open Government Licence - Canada
supersedes any previous licences. |
| Author | Rivard, C |
| Source | Public presentations: Environmental Geoscience Program, current status of research projects, May 2017; by Jacob, N; Ahad, J; Gammon, P; Rivard, C; Kao, H; White, D; Parsons, M; Galloway, J; Geological Survey of Canada, Scientific Presentation 70, 2017 p. 32-48, https://doi.org/10.4095/304683  Open Access |
| Year | 2017 |
| Publisher | Natural Resources Canada |
| Document | serial |
| Lang. | English |
| Media | on-line; digital |
| Related | This publication is contained in Public presentations:
Environmental Geoscience Program, current status of research projects, May 2017 |
| File format | pptx; pdf |
| Province | New Brunswick |
| NTS | 21H/10; 21H/11; 21H/12; 21H/13; 21H/14; 21H/15; 21I/02; 21I/03; 21I/04 |
| Area | Sussex; Elgin |
| Lat/Long WENS | -65.5842 -64.9228 46.0244 45.5872 |
| Subjects | environmental geology; fossil fuels; hydrogeology; structural geology; geophysics; engineering geology; geochemistry; environmental studies; environmental impacts; pollutants; bedrock geology;
lithology; sedimentary rocks; black shales; sandstones; structural features; faults; groundwater; aquifers; groundwater discharge; groundwater flow; groundwater movement; petroleum resources; hydrocarbons; gas; methane; ethane; condensate; hydraulic
fracturing; fluid migration; fluid flow; reservoir rocks; water quality; groundwater geochemistry; gas wells; oil wells; observation wells; well samples; major element geochemistry; minor element geochemistry; metals; isotopes; boreholes; geophysical
logging; well logging; core samples; geophysical interpretations; seismic interpretations; hydraulic analyses; hydraulics; salinity; modelling; McCully gas field; Elgin gas field; Utica Shale; Hiram Brook Member; Frederick Brook Member; Lorraine
Group; Trenton Group; Sussex Group; Windsor Group; Mabou Group; Horton Group; Water supply; Phanerozoic; Paleozoic; Carboniferous; Devonian |
| Illustrations | location maps; photographs; schematic cross-sections; geological sketch maps; stratigraphic cross-sections; stratigraphic charts; 3-D images; seismic profiles; graphs; stratigraphic columns; core
logs; photographs; spectra |
| Program | Environmental Geoscience
Management |
| Program | ecoENERGY Innovation Initiative |
| Program | Program of Energy Research and Development (PERD) |
| Released | 2017 09 14 |
| Abstract | A project studying potential hydrocarbon migration through natural pathways or fracking-induced fractures from deep (~2 km) Carboniferous shale or tight sand units to shallow aquifers was initiated in
2015 in the Sussex area, southern New Brunswick. The study area includes the McCully gas field that has been in production since 2001 and the Elgin field that is investigated for its condensate potential. Because the intermediate zone located between
shallow aquifers and units targeted for hydrocarbon production is poorly characterized, this project relies on the integration of data from different earth science disciplines, including geology, geophysics, geomechanics, hydrogeology and water and
rock geochemistry.
Fieldwork in 2016-2017 comprised the drilling of observation wells, borehole geophysics, hydraulic tests and groundwater and rock sampling. Initial groundwater chemistry shows that only a few wells contain methane (< 5 mg/L)
with either a thermogenic (McCully gas field) or a microbial (Elgin area) signature. One well in the McCully gas field showed some ethane in groundwater, as well as small amounts of gaseous methane in core samples, while drill cuttings revealed the
presence of long-chain hydrocarbons. Rock-Eval analyses of shallow cores showed very low S1, S2 and TOC values, except for that specific well. 3-D seismic data have been reprocessed and the resulting geological interpretation revealed that faults are
mostly confined within the Horton Group, where the two units targeted by the industry are located. In addition, the geomechanical study concluded that the intermediate zone provides an effective barrier to induced fractures, based on well logs. The
development of numerical groundwater flow models (from 1D to 3D) is ongoing. This study will provide a scientific basis to support informed decisions by provincial authorities on future hydrocarbon development. |
| Summary | (Plain Language Summary, not published)
To increase the program visibility, a public science presentation was offered to the entire department (NRCan) and key partners via Tandberg and NRCan
live web on May 9th, 2017. All the Power Point Presentations (7) are included in this Scientific Presentation and key words associated to the research are as follow: oil sands, groundwater, shale gas, induced seismicity, geological storage, critical
metal deposits and geoscience tools. |
| GEOSCAN ID | 304683 |
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