A spill or a leak could harm workers and pollute groundwater for residential uses. Finally, the ability to drill into these reserves directionally or horizontally leads to concerns about drilling companies having access to potentially environmentally significant areas. By making access easier, more and more previously unreachable sources in previously preserved areas could be disturbed.
Fossil Fuels. Nuclear Fuels. Acid Rain. Climate Change. Climate Feedback. Ocean Acidification. Rising Sea Level. Tight gas Tight gas is natural gas trapped within a rock with extremely low permeability —typically limestone or sandstone. Diagram of natural gas deposits, including tight gas.
Boyle, B. Everett, S. Peake, J. May 26, Knecht ; William N. Daniel T. Georgi Daniel T. Published: April 08 Abstract All Shale Gas reservoirs are not the same. Copyright , Society of Petroleum Engineers. You can access this article if you purchase or spend a download. Sign in Don't already have an account? Personal Account. You could not be signed in. Please check your username and password and try again.
Sign In Reset password. Sign in via OpenAthens. Pay-Per-View Access. Buy This Article. Annual Article Package — Traditionally most natural gas has come from rock formations that, once drilled, allow the gas to flow freely. But supplies of this easy-to-access gas are declining. Many of the remaining vast gas resources lie trapped tightly in dense rock, inside pores up to 20, times narrower than a human hair.
Called tight and shale gas, these resources were previously considered too costly or difficult to access, yet the overall volume of available gas can be much higher than in conventional gas reservoirs.
We use advanced technology to help gain access, contributing to global growth in natural gas production. Over time we have found ways to safely develop the fields and produce the gas with greater efficiency, lowering costs and limiting our environmental impact.
At all our tight gas operations, we use a technique known as hydraulic fracturing to break open rock and release natural gas. This involves pumping fluids into the well bore at high pressure. Fracturing typically takes place a kilometre or more thousands of feet below drinking water supplies.
We insert concrete and steel barriers into the wells to prevent any drilling or fracturing fluids from entering into local water supplies. Read about advanced technology we use to safely produce tight and shale gas.
Shell started producing tight gas in the early s in south Texas. Today we produce enough natural gas in North America to meet the energy needs of millions of homes. Read more about tight and shale gas in the Americas — opens on our US website.
Building on our experience in North America, we are developing tight and shale gas operations in other locations. In Australia, we acquired Arrow Energy in in a joint deal with PetroChina, to produce another form of tight gas called coalbed methane — natural gas found in coal seams.
Listening to residents near to our operations helps us form strong relationships and find ways to address local concerns about our operations. As we expand our activities we have implemented a number of environmental measures with the aim of protecting local biodiversity, keeping air and water clean, and reclaiming the land once drilling ends.
Read about how we work with communities and our commitment to the environment. At our Changbei operations in China we reuse water wherever possible — in drilling and cleaning, for example — to limit our fresh-water use. We have worked for several years to improve water management at our facilities in Canada, first in Groundbirch, British Columbia, and then in Fox Creek, Alberta.
We have taken steps to reduce our overall fresh water footprint from our oil and natural gas operations. We have also been looking at ways to reduce overall water demand through our project design as well as re-using water. At Changbei, in Shaanxi province of northern China, we work with the forestry department to help protect biodiversity in the Yulin area. Read more about Shell and fresh water.
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