392 research outputs found
Marcellus Education Fact Sheet State Tax Implications of Marcellus Shale: What the Pennsylvania Data Say in 2010
No full textnatural gas in Pennsylvania has brought with it many changes to parts of the Commonwealth. Because of the rather recent nature of the drilling activity, the extent of its effects on local economies and state tax collections has not been clearly understood. Marcellus-related activity can affect these through several means. Leasing and royalty income paid to mineral right owners increases household income, and since it is taxable under the state’s personal income tax, it will affect state income tax collections. Increases in local employment or earnings due to Marcellus-related work can likewise affect state income tax collections. If mineral right owners and those employed due to Marcellus development spend more money locally, state sales tax collections can increase. If development of Marcellus shale affects local real estate markets, it may similarly affect realty transfer tax collections. It still is very early in the development of Marcellus shale, so much cannot be known about its full long-term economic implications. However, recent state tax collection information gathered by the Pennsylvania Department of Revenue can provide some insight into the short-term economic and state tax implications of gas development in the Commonwealth. This fact sheet provides basic analysis of state tax information as reported in the Departmen
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Marcellus Shale Gas: Development Potential and Water Management Issues and Laws
No full textThis report covers the development of the Marcellus Shale, a natural gas formation spanning a large portion of Northeastern United States. The author discusses the unconventionality of the shale, a drilling and stimulation of the shale, laws and regulations affecting the shales development, and congressional interest (from Contents). The report includes visual maps indicating the depth of the shale, thickness of the shale, Northeast region natural gas pipeline networks, well configurations, prohibited shales development areas, major river basins overlying the shale (from Contents)
Development of Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania
No full textAbstract
A review of technologies and practices used for exploration and production of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania is given while shedding light on the entire process of natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale region of Pennsylvania. Entailing drilling and completions operations, production operations and transportation of natural gas tied together with regulation and policy in Pennsylvania. Horizontal drilling technology is used in shale play development along with well stimulation which is also needed to produce economically from these wells. This is achieved through hydraulic fracturing. Water is predominantly used for this but the use of other fluids is also being explored. For the transport of natural gas a network is present in Pennsylvania but gathering stations and other infrastructure needs to be setup. This is not easy in Pennsylvania due to the hilly nature of the region. Most common practices are developed locally as is the case in the Marcellus, with local operators and not the big majors heading the development of the Shale play but even they used techniques applied in the Barnett Shale to great success in the Marcellus Shale which goes to prove that a lot can be gained from other similar plays. The history of this region in producing natural gas is more than a hundred years old and so a lot has done in this region with regards to experimentation and technology additions in producing natural gas. Apart from producing and transportation of natural gas, another important aspect is regulation and policy which is strict when it comes to Pennsylvania. Along with this it would be beneficial for companies to develop good relations with residents in the area as these wells typically produce for long periods of time. Typical land restoration projects are now mandatory which all adds upto a higher overall cost of energy. To summarize all the factors needed to produce natural gas in this region economically and safely with leaving as small as a footprint as possible is explored.</jats:p
The Relationship Between the Taghanic Unconformity and Marcellus Shale Production in Doddridge and Ritchie Counties, West Virginia
No full textThe Marcellus Shale, a geologic unit that extends from New York to West Virginia within the Appalachian region, is the source of trillions of cubic feet of natural gas due to organic-rich properties. The formation of the unit was coupled with a period of eustatic sea-level rise that resulted in reactivation of a peripheral bulge leading to the development of the Taghanic unconformity. Stratal variances such as thinning or removal of units within the region are predominately found within the Marcellus Shale as a result of the Taghanic unconformity. Most specifically, in West Virginia, the Taghanic unconformity dominates Marcellus Shale thickness deviations. Areas where thickness of the unit varies considerably are located within Doddridge and Ritchie counties. This project aids in understanding how stratigraphic thinning or removal of the Marcellus Shale in relation to hydrocarbon production differences between Doddridge and Ritchie counties, West Virginia may be a result of the Taghanic unconformity. Data are derived from log images obtained by the West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey that are correlated to establish the stratigraphy. This study shows the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale thins from ~55-95 feet in the northeast to ~15-60 feet in the southwest of the counties. This is the result of depositional thinning of the lower Marcellus Shale and erosional removal of part of the upper Marcellus Shale. Additionally, the erosional boundary becomes more extensive towards the southwest. The average first 12 months of gas production from the Marcellus Shale indicates a larger quantity produced within Doddridge County (656,411 MCF) in comparison to Ritchie County (94,209 MCF). Variations in production values may be attributed to erosional features and thinning trends of the Marcellus Shale related to the Taghanic unconformity as well as additional factors such as gas extraction method, and reservoir properties
CONNECTIVITY OF THE ORISKANY SANDSTONE WITH THE MARCELLUS SHALE: EFFECTS ON SHALE GAS OPERATIONS IN NORTH CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA
No full textMarcellus Shale flowback and produced waters from lateral wells in North Central Pennsylvania have higher overall total dissolved solids and lower overall gas production than other areas of the Appalachian Basin. Marcellus Shale development in North Central Pennsylvania is unique in that it is the only area developed where historic vertical well gas fields exist in the Oriskany Sandstone, approximately 7-26 meters below the Marcellus Shale. This research explores potential effects on Marcellus Shale lateral well operations and production due to hydraulic connections between the Oriskany Sandstone and the Marcellus Shale. This connectivity is thought to adversely affect Marcellus Shale production operations in North Central Pennsylvania, but thus far, mechanistic clarification of production in North Central Pennsylvania has not been formalized and/or reported. The stratigraphic and structural review of the study area within North Central Pennsylvania identifies which Marcellus Shale lateral well pads are most likely to be connected with the Oriskany. The data reveals that the presence of the Oriskany Sandstone does not significantly affect formation breakdown pressures during the completion of the Marcellus laterals, nor percent fluid recovered during flowback, nor the volume of gas and water, nor the produced water geochemistry. The δ18O and δ2H isotopic composition of produced waters from the study area suggest possible mixing between waters characteristic of Oriskany and Marcellus Formations. A structural complexity calculator was developed to analyze if the structural profile of a lateral well (presence of faults, extreme bed dips, etc.) affects the completion or production of the laterals. The structural complexity calculations reveal that Marcellus Shale lateral well formation breakdown pressure, gas and water production volumes, and produced water geochemistry are affected by pre-existing structural features that the lateral wells intercept. This research identifies important interactions among lateral wells, historic gas fields, and structure. Clarification of these interactions will allow more efficient future Marcellus Shale lateral wells in North Central Pennsylvania
Geomechanical Characterization of Marcellus Shale
No full textUnderstanding the reservoir conditions and material properties that govern the geomechanical behavior of shale formations under in situ conditions is of vital importance for many geomechanical applications. The development of new numerical codes and advanced multi-physical (thermo-hydro-chemo-mechanical) constitutive models has led to an increasing demand for fundamental material property data. Previous studies have shown that deformational rock properties are not single-value, well-defined, linear parameters. This paper reports on an experimental program that explores geomechanical properties of Marcellus Shale through a series of isotropic compression (i.e. σ[subscript 1] = σ [subscript 2] = σ[subscript 3]) and triaxial (i.e. σ[subscript 1] > σ[subscript 2] = σ[subscript 3]) experiments. Deformational and failure response of these rocks, as well as anisotropy evolution, were studied under different stress and temperature conditions using single- and multi-stage triaxial tests. Laboratory results revealed significant nonlinear and pressure-dependent mechanical response as a consequence of the rock fabric and the occurrence of microcracks in these shales. Moreover, multi-stage triaxial tests proved to be useful tools for obtaining failure envelopes using a single specimen. Furthermore, the anisotropic nature of Marcellus Shale was successfully characterized using a three-parameter coupled model.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant 1429252
Resident vs. Nonresident Employment Associated with Marcellus Shale Development
No full textThere is much debate about the employment effect of shale gas development, especially as it relates to extraction counties. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of the jobs created are filled by nonresidents. We examine the impact shale gas development has on local employment in Pennsylvania using a data set that links workers to their personal residences. We find that activity in the Marcellus shale has had a modest positive impact on job growth. The impact is cut in half, however, when we use data for county residents only. Thus, traditional employment data may overestimate employment impacts from shale development
In cooperation with the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center
No full textMany have speculated about how the development of Marcellus shale is affecting local economies and businesses in Pennsylvania communities. Some recent data from the Commonwealth indicate that such counties are typically experiencing faster employment growth and lower unemployment rates, but little objective information is available about the direct impacts on businesses themselves. Marcellus shale–related gas development clearly has the abilit
The Economic Impact of the Value Chain of a Marcellus Shale Well
No full textThe Economic Impact of the Value Chain of a Marcellus Shale Well Site examines the direct economic impact of a Marcellus Shale well located in Southwestern Pennsylvania. This study seeks to fill a critical information gap on the impact of gas drilling and extraction from Marcellus Shale deposits deep underground: an assessment of the economic impacts – emphasizing the direct economic impact, rather than just focusing on the perceived benefits and impacts affecting the region. Our analysis is based on extensive field research, including a site visit and interviews with industry participants. It is further cross-validated by examining similar costs for development of Marcellus Wells by a vertically-integrated exploration and production firm
Measurement of the Marcellus Shale Properties
No full textAbstract
Even though the advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques have unlocked the gas contained in Marcellus shale, the quantification of the petrophysical properties remain challenging due to complex nature of the shale. Shale permeability is commonly measured by the unsteady state methods, such as pulse-decay or GRI methods, because the shale has a permeability in nano-Darcy range. The permeability values by determined by these techniques have been found often to have large margin of uncertainty as a result of inconsistent experimental protocols and the complex interpretations methods.
In this study, petrophysical properties of the Marcellus shale core plugs were measured using an innovative laboratory setup, referred to as Precision Petrophysical Analysis Laboratory (PPAL). PPAL is designed to accurately measure the petrophysical properties of ultra-low permeability core plugs under the reservoir conditions. PPAL measurements are performed under steady-state isothermal conditions flow conditions and the analysis of the results do not require complicated interpretations. The key advantage of the PPAL is the capability to measure the permeability and porosity of the shale core plugs under a wide range of confining and pore pressures. In addition, the impact of gas adsorption (or desorption) on the measurements can be monitored. The core plugs used in this study were made available through the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL), a dedicated field laboratory in the Marcellus Shale. MSEEL has been established to undertake field and laboratory research to advance and demonstrate new subsurface technologies and to enable surface environmental studies related to unconventional energy development. The filed site is owned and operated by Northeast Natural Energy, LLC and contains several horizontal Marcellus Shale wells. In addition, a vertical well has been drilled specifically for obtaining core, log, and other data for scientific purposes (science well).
The results of the core plug permeability measurements indicated that that the permeability values decline as the gas (pore) pressure increases. Reliable values of the absolute permeability can be obtained by the application of the double-slippage correction for all pore pressure ranges but more specifically for pore pressures below 900 psia. Klinkenberg correction on the other hand, can only provide reliable values for the absolute permeability when the pore pressures are above 900 psia. The determined absolute permeability values were found to be impacted by the net stress. The analysis stress data with the aid of Walsh plot provided the estimates of the fracture (fissure) closure pressure. The closure pressure was found to be dependent on the absolute permeability.</jats:p
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