Recent advances in combining two drilling techniques, hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, have allowed access to large deposits of shale resources -- that is, crude oil and natural gas trapped in shale and certain other dense rock formations. As a result, the cost of that "tight oil" and "shale gas" has become competitive with the cost of oil and gas extracted from other sources. Virtually non-existent a decade ago, the development of shale resources has boomed in the United States, producing about 3.5 million barrels of tight oil per day and about 9.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of shale gas per year. This book discusses the economic and budgetary effects of producing oil and natural gas from shale. It also examines the production, infrastructure, and market issues in U.S. shale gas development; and potential budgetary effects of immediately opening most federal lands to oil and gas leasing.

The recent growth in unconventional natural gas production has also produced a profusion of publications on the exploration, development, production, infrastructure, economics, uses, and environmental impacts of these resources. This book summarises the current state of published descriptions of the potential environmental impacts of unconventional natural gas upstream operations within the Lower 48 United States. It also examines the technology, impacts and regulations of hydraulic fracturing, which is a key technique that has enabled the economic production of natural gas from shale deposits, or plays.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed regulations to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing power plants. EPA believes that its proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) will "protect public health, move the United States towards a cleaner environment, and fight climate change while supplying Americans with reliable and affordable power." Burning fossil fuels to produce electricity results in the release of carbon dioxide, and represents the largest source of GHG emissions in the United States. This book discusses the implications for the electric power sector. It also examines the carbon dioxide emission rate goals in EPA's proposed rule for existing power plants; and discusses the Congressional responses and options to the EPA regulation of greenhouse gases.

"Coal Bed Methane: From Prospect to Pipeline"is the proceedings of the 25th anniversary of the North American Coal Bed Methane Forum. It provides the latest advancements in the production of coal bed methane covering a variety of topics, from exploration to gas processing, for commercial utilization. Additionally, it presents the origin of gas in coal, reservoir engineering, control of methane in coal mines, production techniques, water management, and gas processing.

The vast coal resources in theUnited Statescontinue to produce tremendous amounts of natural gas, contributing to a diverse range energy assets. Following a rapid advancement and subsequent plateau in technological developments, this book captures the full life cycle of a well and offers petroleum geologists and engineers a single source of a broad range of coal bed methane applications. This book addresses crucial technical topics, including exploration and evaluation of coal bed reservoirs; hydraulic fracturing of CBM wells; coal seam degasification; and production engineering and processing, among others. It also covers legal issues, permitting, and economic analysis of CBM projects.
Edited by a team of coal bed methane experts from industry, academia and government who have more than 75 years of combined experience in the fieldAuthored by well-recognized members of the gas and coal industry, universities, US government departments, such as the Department of Energy and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)More than 200 figures, photographs, and illustrations aid in the understanding of the fundamental conceptsPresents the full scope of improvements in US energy independence, coal mine safety, and greenhouse gas emissions"

This comprehensive professional reference has been fully revised and updated for the second edition. It is both a training tool and text covering all aspects of pipeline pumping and compression system design, configuration, and operation, in addition to the dynamic behavior of all the elements in each system. The authors provide practical solutions for achieving reliable operation of these systems. This book will serve as a useful guide for the design of liquid and gas pipeline transmissions, as well as a guide to various installation options. For practicing engineers in the pipeline and oil & gas industry, specifically those in involved with the design and operation of pumping and compression systems.

This book addresses several aspects of the changing context of natural gas in the U.S. electric power sector. Increasingly plentiful and affordable natural gas has catalysed major changes in U.S. power generation and has helped to boost U.S. economic recovery. Increased substitution of natural gas for coal in power generation has also cut U.S. GHG emissions. However, processes to produce natural gas, shale gas in particular, have also elevated environmental and safety concerns in certain regions of the country. The rapid rise of natural gas is also beginning to drive more thought on longer-term energy policy issues such as the appropriate level of generation diversity (given the history of volatile prices for natural gas), and trajectories of natural gas use that will still allow GHG mitigation sufficient to address the climate challenge. This book is intended to help inform these energy policy and investment discussions, and outlines the current dynamics of natural gas in the power sector and the selected challenges and opportunities in the use of natural gas to generate electricity.

With millions of kilometres of onshore and offshore oil and gas pipelines in service around the world, pipelines are the life s blood of the world. Notorious for disrupting natural gas production or transmission, the formation of natural gas hydrates can cost a company hundreds of millions and lead to catastrophic equipment breakdowns and safety and health hazards. Written by an international group of experts, Natural gas Hydrates in Flow Assurance provide an expert overview of the practice and theory in natural gas hydrates, with applications primarily in flow assurance. Compact and easy to use, the book provides readers with a wealth of materials which include the key lessons learned in the industry over the last 20 years. Packed with field case studies, the book is designed to provide hands-on training and practice in calculating hydrate phase equilibria and plug dissociation. In addition readers receive executable programs to calculate hydrate thermodynamics.

Case studies of hydrates in flow assurance

The key concepts underlying the practical applications

An overview of the state of the art flow assurance industrial developments "

This volume contains peer-reviewed manuscripts describing the scientific and technological advances presented at the 6th Natural Gas Conversion Sumposium held in Alaska in June 2001. This symposium continues the tradition of excellence and the status as the premier technical meeting in this area established by previous meetings.
The 6th Natural Gas Conversion Symposium is conducted under the overall direction of the Organizing Committee. The Program Committee was responsible for the review, selection, editing of most of the manuscripts included in this volum. A standing International Advisory Board has ensured the effective long-term planning and the continuity and technical excellence of these meetings.

This book documents CCPS's Aerosol Research Program to develop a model to predict liquid rainout from release of a pressurized, liquefied gas--and, hence the residual amount of material in a vapor cloud, which may be greater than the amount calculated from an enthalpy chart. RELEASE predicts the rate of fluid discharge, the depressurization, flashing and formation of liquid drops, the entrainment of drops into the vapor cloud, the subsequent spreading of the jet, and rate of liquid rainout to a pool on the ground. Designed in a modular fashion to permit adjustment and corrections as new data become available, its multi-layered approach contains sub-models that include the complexities of many variables, including the effect of liquid superheat, rate of bubble growth, criterion for bubble formation, and heat transfer from the liquid to the growing vapor bubble. To validate RELEASE, CCPS conducted small- and large-scale experiments using superheated water, heated liquefied chlorine, methylamine, and cyclohexane that produced valuable data in an area where data are scarce. This book gives complete access, in text and on CD-ROM, to the model and the test data, giving users an informed ability to apply the model to their own work.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. The number of tight oil and shale gas wells continues to rise primarily in the US, but also worldwide. The US has vast reserves of oil and natural gas, which now are commercially reachable as a result of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies. But as hydraulic fracturing is increasingly used, concerns have been raised about potential stress on surface water and groundwater supplies from the withdrawal of water used in the process. Equally important is the growing volume of wastewater generated from hydraulically fractured oil and gas wells, requiring recycling, treatment, and disposal. Wastewater and Shale Formation Development: Risks, Mitigation, and Regulation examines four major issues, taking a scientific look from different perspectives at water use in shale gas development, potential environmental effects of wastewater from fracking, how to mitigate potential risks associated with wastewater from shale development, and regulatory approaches to the wastewater management problem With chapters from researchers in the field, this compendium volume sheds light on the important issues and challenges surrounding natural gas extraction using hydraulic fracturing and may be of interest to researchers and public policymakers alike.

Rarely covered in formal engineering courses, natural gas hydrates are a common problem and real-life danger for engineers worldwide. Updated and more practical than ever, "Natural Gas Hydrates, Third Edition" helps managers and engineers get up to speed on all the most common hydrate types, how to forecast when they will appear, and safely mitigate their removal. Known for being highly flammable, gas hydrates are a preventable threat that can costs millions of dollars in damage, as well as take the lives of workers and engineers on the rig. The third edition of "Natural Gas Hydrates" is enhanced with today s more complex yet practical utilization needs including: New hydrate types and formers, including mercaptans and other sulfur compoundsVital information on how to handle hydrate formation in the wellbore, useful information in light of the Macondo explosion and resulting oil spillMore detailed phase diagrams, such as ternary systems, as well as more relevant multicomponent mixtures
Quantifiably measure the conditions that make hydrates possible and mitigate the right equipment correctlyPredict and examine the conditions at which hydrates form with simple and complex calculation exercisesGain knowledge and review lessons learned from new real-world case studies and examples, covering capital costs, dehydration, and new computer methods"