NETL Gas Migration Study to Advance Understanding of Responsible Oil and Natural Gas Development

President Obama’s “All-of-the-Above” energy strategy focuses on safely and efficiently developing America’s natural resources, and emphasizes that energy must be produced in a responsible and sustainable manner. Today, a study released by the Department of Energy’s (DOE) National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) provides further clarity on responsible development that both furthers America’s energy security and environmental stewardship. It does not speak broadly to all cases of hydraulic fracturing, and is a limited study focused around specific wells in Pennsylvania.

Led by NETL’s Office of Research Development, the study monitored six horizontally drilled, hydraulically fractured Marcellus Shale wells in Greene County, Pa.  The goals were to determine: (1) how far the “fractures” of rock layers extended, and; (2) whether gas and/or fluids from the fractured area migrated vertically, particularly toward a producing gas field 3,800 feet above the Marcellus but still almost 4,000 feet below underground drinking water sources.

Hydraulic fracturing is a process for producing oil and natural gas from shale formations.  It uses water, sand and chemical additives pumped under high pressure to “fracture” or create cracks in impermeable rock formations containing gas or oil, located deep below the surface.

In an interim analysis of results through at least five months after hydraulic fracturing operations – with ongoing monitoring continuing – the study’s preliminary findings are that there is no evidence of fluid or gas migration from the six hydraulically fractured Marcellus Shale gas wells to a producing gas field 3,800 feet above the hydraulically fractured formation.  The conclusions indicate that impacts from hydraulic fracturing did not extend to the producing gas field well above the stimulated area; and, there has been no detectable migration of gas and fluids during the monitored period after fracturing activities took place. 

The increasing use of hydraulic fracturing, along with horizontal drilling (which allows access to more of the formation) – the development of which were pioneered by DOE and its research partners – has made large quantities of previously hard-to-reach resources available.  The result has been that U.S. shale gas production has risen twelvefold over the past decade while domestic daily oil output over the past five years has increased 37 percent.  The bottom line is that America’s energy landscape has been transformed, moving from decades of scarcity and insecurity to greater abundance, less volatile prices, and enhanced independence.

It’s important to recognize that the results of the study are not the final word on surface impacts from hydraulic fracturing operations.  But the findings are consistent with prior observations that fracturing operations related to Marcellus development at these depths (8,200 feet) can be expected to remain thousands of feet below groundwater sources. It’s another piece to the puzzle of making sure that shale production can help fulfil the great promise of unconventional resources in U.S. energy and economic security, while also addressing concerns about the potential health, safety, and environmental impacts stemming from production and distribution challenges.

We are proud of the work being done in by our talented researchers and program experts at both NETL and headquarters, and look forward to continuing this legacy in the future.