IMPACTS OF PETROLEUM, EXPLORATION,

EXTRACTION AND TRANSPORT

COVENTRY UNIVERSITY

M54GED COURSEWOR ABUBAKAR BASHIR

OIL AND GAS MANAGEMENT

(6787486

Introduction.

The recent discovery of shale oil in commercial quantity in the United States of America has revolutionized

the landscape of the global energy market. Horizontal drilling in combination with large-scale hydraulic

fracturing has being a major technological breakthrough in and a glimpse of hope in the face of the rising

global energy demand due to the dramatic growth in population and economic development. The

successful development of shale gas reservoirs which offers an alternative cleaner source of energy, with a

lower carbon foot print. (Finer 2013).

The Green River Formation (GRF) in the western U.S. has been divided into several distinct geological

basins, namely Piceance, Uinta, Green River, and Washakie Basins (Fig. 1). The richest and most thoroughly

explored deposits occur in the Piceance Basin of North-western Colorado. Basin-wide geospatial data,

including meteorological, topographic, geologic, and hydrological “baseline”, were acquired for the

Piceance Basin study area (Zhou et al. 2015). This area is also some of the most valuable wildlife habitat in

the United States; the area supports an impressive array of wildlife, from mule deer and elk to mountain

lions, black bears, and bald eagles. Especially in small communities, these lands and their wildlife resources

provide the basis of economies that hunters, anglers, wildlife viewers, outfitters, and guides support (Bill

2008).

Fig.1: Locations of four Green River Formation basins in Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming (Zhou et al. 2015)

However, there have being several concerns on the environmental concerns on the hydraulic stimulation

technology, which is usually necessary to create complex fracture network to increase the flowing ability

due to the extremely low permeability, which involves injection of a large amount of water, proppants and

chemical additives into the formation (DOE 2009). However, as the use of hydraulic fracturing has

increased widely, so have the concerns and debates on its potential impacts on environment, including

consuming fresh water resources and intensifying water supply stress (Freyman 2014), contaminating

surface and groundwater (Jackson et al. 2013), inducing earthquakes (Green et al. 2012), and polluting air

(Bamberger, M.2012)

Development of oil shale resources in the Western U.S. will require significant quantities of water for oil

shale retorting or extracting, reclamation, and associated economic growth. Oil shale development could

have a number of impacts on water quality and quantity. The current rate of water consumption is

estimated, based on retorting methods from the oil shale industry, to be averagely 3:1 water-to-oil ratio. For

oil shale resources with potential to yield almost 1 Mm3 of oil per day, this equates to 3 Mm3 of water per

day for in-situ heating processes, retorting, refining, reclamation, dust control and on-site worker demands.

Task 2: Relevant aspects of the EIA operating principles to be focused on in assessing the impact of the

exploration and production activities of shale oil in Green River formation (Colorado’s Piceance Basin), are

seismic data acquisition, vibration trucks/geophones and shot holes and routine operations.

Task 1: Irreversible Cumulative Synergistic Positive

Atm

osph

ere

Production of Oil and Gas is the major

source of CO2 emission and other

GHG such as CO and NOx (Caro et al.

2014). Thus E&P activities in

Colorado, even on a small scale, will

contribute to climate change.

Continuous release of carbon

substances over a period of time in the

21st century could result in an

irreversible climate change, such as

changes in rainfall on global and

regional scale (Frolicher and Joos

2010).

Accumulation, of fugitive gases and

toxic particulate emanating from gas

production in Colorado over a given

period (Years) will drastically reduce the

air quality as well as pollute the entire

region, and also rise the already growing

concerns of global Hearth’s temperature

(Hogrefe 2012). Conversely, this could

also impact on the vegetation due to the

prolong exposure to the pollution and

reduce the growth rates of plant

(Hopkin 2007).

Oil and gas production, is

accompanied with the release of

several harmful gases, however the

gases also tend to react spontaneously

and for complex compounds that

proven to be harmful to humans and

the environment (Sutter 2011)

Therefore engaging in E&P activities

in Colorado could lead to severe health

challenges to the population,

irrespective of the scale at which these

gases are released (Mckee and

Rodriguez 1993).

Lith

osph

ere

Apart from the fact that the green

vegetation of Colorado stands a risk of

losing its soil nutrient due to routine

activities such as seismic shop hole

(Laurance 1998). The ground stands a

risk of contamination from loss in

containment of drilling chemicals

The removal of the covering vegetation

due to exploration activities would

expose the soil, and thereby cause

erosion (Southgate and Whitaker 1992).

This soil erosion over a given time could

result in surface hydrology, drainage

arrays, increase in the siltation and

damage of the habitat (UNEP 1997).

The combination of the ground

disturbance made in cause of the E&P

activities and the spill of chemical on

the soil will result in a dramatic change

in soil composition of the area because

most micro and macro organism

would have migrated due to the

disturbances (Binelli et al. 2011).

The proportionate and controlled

increase of CO2 concentration in a

giving region, it could enhance the

productivity of plants and improve the

efficacies of resource use in farmland

(Olesen and Bindi 2002)

thereby affecting the flora and fauna

(Amadi et al. 1999)

Hyd

rosp

here

The release of toxic waste and

chemicals spill, from produced water

and waste from drilling activities can

lead to the contamination of nearby

aquifer and ground water (Wang et al

2014).

Trees play a very significant role in

absorbing rain fall and produce water

vapour to the atmosphere, however,

cutting these trees during seismic and

shot hole drilling, and other routine

activities would impact soil and the

water cycle (Muthukrishnan 2015). It

also degrades the water quality, and

reduce fish stock due to turbidity

(Caffrey 2002)

The combination of drill cutting,

contaminated produced water and

deposits of spent mud could cause a

condition referred to as Hypoxia,

which is the shortage of oxygen, and

can result in the death of Benthic

communities and reduce the river

flowrate (Bamberger, M. 2012)

Bio

sphe

re

Disturbance of the land scape and

deforestation could result to

fragmentation and degradation of

habitats that supports biological

diversity (Caffrey 2002)

The combine effect of flux of personnel,

noise from seismic operations will result

to migration of animal from the region.

While land and water pollution will

jeopardize the socio-economic activities

of the population which is usually

agriculture/fishing/hunting. (Tresierra

1999).

Multiple drilling and seismic activities

can lead to acoustic deafening,

vibration and noise (Clark, B. and

Dutzik 2002) Non-native aggressive

species and disease may be

involuntarily introduced into an area

with crews and/or equipment. In the

long run, this can displace and even

eliminate native flora and fauna over

time (YK 2006).

Oil and gas production would lead to

commercialization, and job creation

which will be a means of economic

empowerment for the locals as well as

generate revenue for the government.

Seismic Data Acquisition to Build 3D Images of the Colorado Piceance Basin

Alternatives

1. The safest alternative to this would be having no seismic activities done thereby leaving the

environment in its original state.

2. Use of Mulchers: using mulchers in cutting flora fauna, leaves rapidly bio-degradable mulch with

their seeds intact, and thus reduce the impact.

3. Use of Hand tools with thinner cut lines: hand tools or lighter machinery could be used in place of

the heavy duty machineries to minimize the destruction caused to the basin. Furthermore, with

recent technological is evolution, smaller portable and lighter navigation system capable of carrying

out seismic exploration without cutting overhead vegetation or clearing of the basin (Gibson and

Rice 2003).

Impact Analysis

Modern-day seismic exploration makes use of a combination of helicopter and heavy duty road vehicles to

access the target location these equipment’s tends to heavily impact any environment, and especially the

green river that is a traditional wildlife area (Finer et al. 2013). Preliminary activities for the acquisition of

3D images of the Colorado basin would involve basic line operations that would require the use of vertical

and horizontal heavy duty slashers (see fig 2), for land clearing and deforestation.

Fig. 2: Heavy Duty Slashers in line operation

According to Seversen-Baker (n.d.) when opening seismic lines with these heavy duty equipment, access

roads and other cut lines tends to create a separation or disrupt the ecosystems. While YG (2006) in

agreement opined that preliminary activities generally impacts the wildlife populations, distortion of settled

herds, migration of wildlife due to loud noise from machinery, human presence and smells from exhaust

and chemical fumes.

Furthermore, some animals might tend to wonder away to new population via the accesses created by the

bush clearing, and then become either prey or predators in the new population, therefore causing an

ecological imbalance. Also, bush clearing would also involve the scrapping of the topsoil and vegetation

thereby making the soil vulnerable to erosion cases of severe rainfall. In addition, the usual deployment of

line-of-sight techniques used for surveying, is another major impact as it involves the clearing of large

portions of the green formation (Gibson, D. 2003). (Prickett 2001) (see fig.3).

Fig. 3: Vegetation Clearing for Surveying

Although in recent times most countries now have strict guidelines and stipulated dimensions on the line

width which varies between 1.2 and 2 meters (SPE 2014), this even though an improvement of the earlier

practice is still a significant expanse of forest cleanout. With respect to the use of helicopter as opposed to

the earlier use of land, which causes land distortion, the helicopter operation still cause significant noise

pollution, as well as space for landing and take-off which still requires ample land space (fig 4).

Environmentalist however do strongly advise that during nesting, migration and mating periods (critical

periods for wildlife) helicopter operation should be avoided or minimised (Bamberger, M. and Oswald,

R. 2012). (Seversen-Baker n.d.).

fig.4: Heliport Landing (Pardo 2016).

Decision Making

The use of portable GPS devices capable of carrying out seismic surveys is the safest process, however the

results accuracy might be a challenge, therefore the helicopter process in conformance with flight path

restriction, used with GPS-survey would be recommended.

4. Vibrator trucks/geophone operation and shot hole drilling.

Vibrator truck is generally used to generate vibrations underneath the ground by elevating themselves above

the ground on a short pole, therefore concentrating their entire weight on a platter and shaking for several

seconds per location, thereby sending vibrations through the ground, which causes loud noise in addition

to the vibration into the ground. The geophone converts the underground movements to voltage which is

then recorded and analysed to determine the subsurface structure (Bagaini 2010).

Fig. 5: Schematic of Vibration and Geophones

Alternatives

1. Use of low ground pressure equipment: this with drastically reduce the amount of disturbances

caused to the soil, as contact surface will cause less harm.

2. Use of Eco-drills: these a relatively smaller light weight compact drill, mounted on a light truck, to

reduce the impact on the top soil. These trucks also do not require large line cut, as they are capable

of operating efficiently even in smaller line cut (SPE 2014).

Impact Assessment

Seismic operation involving vibration trucks are associated with high vibration and noise therefore

impacting wildlife, which can cause long-term impact on habitat (Wilson 2011). In some cases, this can

result in vulnerable species migration to an uncomfortable habitat where they may be prey, or not being

able to adapt therefore face the possibility of extinction (Severson-Baker 2006). As part of the operations

of a vibration truck, it compresses the soil to be able to lift itself to vibrate. This act tends to impact on the

top surface of the soil, especially for already cleared location which will result in compacting the soil tightly

and thus making it difficult fot little offshoots of plant to grow.

In contrast to vibration trucks shot hole drilling do not need huge soil clearing (Clark, B. and Dutzik, T.

2002). (Bowles and Prickett 2001). Nevertheless, the quality of water could be affected by the increased

turbidity as a result of drilling of many shot-holes along seismic line. In addition, drilling shot hole has been

characterized by huge dust generation and mud capable of changing surface water PH value, disposed in

the river surface (SPE 2014). Shot hole could also lead to the disruption of ground water.

Lastly, because of the duration of such seismic activities field logistics base are often created to

accommodate or shelter the workforce this also will lead to the generation of human waste which in most

cases are not biodegradable. With the possibility of workers having to burn their waste in situ, burning

mixed solid waste at low temperatures could create emissions of air toxics (Finer 2006).

Decision Making

According, IOGP (n.d.) states that companies favour lower-energy source for seismic survey such as

vibroseis as it causes less disturbance to than dynamite. However, in reality, in area such as the Amazon

forest with dense vegetation and difficult access, the shot-hole is still preferred to vibrator engine (Anon

2016) (SPE 2014). Anyhow, before any shot hole are drilled and dynamite is used, companies should

consult with local communities. They should also make sure that those activities are not carried out during

crucial periods in the life cycles of wildlife (e.g. reproduction).

Routine Activities

Alternatives

1. Proper designation of chemical storage and refuelling dump: the chemical storage area should be

properly designed to have a secondary containment in case of emergency or unplanned loss in

containment. The secondary containment should be able to isolate the liquid from entraining to

the environment. A dedicated refuelling dump will help make refuelling not only less impactful to

the environment but will also ensure reduction in loss of fuel due to proper planning

2. Development of an emergency response plan for Oil/Chemical Spill: Since the probability of spill

is relatively high and do occur on a daily basis development of an emergency response and

communicating same to the work force would help reduce the impact of the spill. Response

equipment such as absorbent pad should also be readily available.

3. Training and Environmental Awareness Campaign: work force should be trained on safe handling

of chemical and response to spill. However, periodic lectures and awareness campaign should be

conducted on the need to protect the environment and also the dangers of not doing so.

Emergency drill on environmental spills should also be conducted periodically

Impact Assessment

The major routine activity that devastates the environment is that of chemical spills which commonly occur

during refuelling of mechanical devices or equipment’s and storage of chemical. Chemical spills particularly

tends to significant affect the supply of water (EIA 2003). Refuelling of heavy duty machineries have being

associated with spillages, refuelling activities accounts for over most of the underground water

contamination. Diesel and petrol are the common fuel used for such heavy duty engines. Continuous release

of this petroleum based product to the soil would lead to contamination of the both the soil and the

underground water table, as well as the flora (Westlund, Thurber 2010). The atmosphere also stands the

risk of contamination though in small scale but could also impact the fauna owing to the fact that it could

contain toxic substances such as benzene that could lead to cancer.

Contamination of underground water by the continuous release of toxic chemical could also lead to the

gross water pollution, bearing in mind that the same water is what is used for bathing, cooking, agriculture

and drink by local communities. These could lead to serious health implication for the local community.

Waste disposal: This relates to the removal of waste from the different activities, some of which include

shot hole drilling to avoid the potential impact. It also involves the proper disposal of human waste during

operation on the site so as to minimize waste.

Decision Making

The periodic self-assessment and conduction of environmental audits aimed at reviewing the environmental

impact in locations like the Green River Formation (Colorado), would help in monitoring the environment.

The enforcement of the carbon economy law and the strict adherence by operators would help in sanitizing

and protecting the environment.

Task 3.

EIA (Potential Impact) EMP (Mitigation EMS (Continual Improvement) Déforestation and soil contamination

Revegetation by replanting species

Periodic monitoring and testing of soil content to be enforce by regulatory body

Water contamination Produced water can be treated

Water should be tested by Professional periodically

Contaminated air The air should be tested periodically

Regular equipment check and measurement of emission

Noise disturbance Control of noise level by using noise tools like silencer, acoustic insulator etc.

Regular use of noise auxometer to check the noise level in the environment.

Unseen accidents Safety personnel’s should monitor operations.

Conclusion

In this paper, potential environmental impacts associated with hydraulic fracturing in shale gas development

are analysed, from four aspects, water consumption, water contamination, earthquake inducement and air

pollution. Although the water consumption of a single shale gas well is high, the consumptive water

intensity of energy production is lower than conventional oil and EOR. Water use for shale gas

development in the United States do not cause significantly extra water stress in the state level. However,

water withdrawal usually concentrates in the early well completion stage, thus water use and source data

needs to be collected, and comprehensive plan should be made to maintain the local water balance.

Although elevated methane concentration in drinking water wells near active shale gas wells have been

detected in some areas in the US, due to the absence of baseline data prior to development, no definitive

conclusion can be made on whether hydraulic fracturing would lead to methane leak or migration to shallow

aquifers. To evaluate the impacts of shale gas development, baseline data pre-drilling needs to be acquired,

and continuous monitoring needs to be carried out to identify the source of contaminants through

geochemical indicators and isotopic signatures. Microseismic data reveals that hydraulic fractures are

unlikely to extend to shallow aquifers from shale formations, and fracturing fluid is more likely to be

bounded and sealed within deep shale formations by capillary force even if pathways exist. However the

transport mechanisms, affecting factors and the fate of fracturing fluid still need to be further understood.

Compared with risks of subsurface leaks and movements, the impacts and treatments of flowback are more

serious issues that need further study and evaluation, including geochemical signatures, monitoring plan

and indicators of flowback. Hydraulic fracturing is unlikely to induce destructive earthquakes, and the

hydraulic fracturing cases inducing earthquakes higher than 3 in magnitude were likely caused by unknown

pre-existing faults. More efforts need to be put into the study on the mechanisms of fracture initiation and

development, and the impacts of injected fracturing fluids and water on in-situ stress and earthquakes. Due

to the different assumptions of flowback ratio and EUR, estimation of life-cycle greenhouse gas emissions

of a shale gas well varies a lot in existing literatures. More effective measures need to be taken to reduce

natural gas leaks, measure emissions and increase utilization rate.

REFERENCE Alvarez, R. (2009). Emission of natural gas production in the barnet shale arae and opportunities for cost effective improvements. [online] Available at: https://www.citethisforme.com/cite/journal [Accessed 16 Feb. 2016]. Anon. (2016) Environmental Management In The Oil And Gas Exploration And Production. [online] available from <http://www.ogp.org.uk/pubs/254.pdf> [19 February 2016] Anon, (2002). Strategic Responses to Global Climate Change: Conflicting Pressures on Multinationals in the Oil Industry. [online] Available at: Anomohanra, O. (2011). Estimating the Greenhouse Gas Emission from Petroleum Product Combustion in Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences, 11(17), pp.3209-3214. AVAILABLE AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES FOR. (2010). [online] Available at: https://www.citethisforme.com/cite/journal [Accessed 17 Feb. 2016]. Bamberger, M. and Oswald, R. (2012). Impacts of Gas Drilling on Human and Animal Health. NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy, 22(1), pp.51-77. Bagaini, C. (2010). land seismic techniques for high quality data. [online] Available at: https://www.citethisforme.com/cite/journal [Accessed 16 Feb. 2016]. Butler, R. (2012). OIL EXTRACTION: The Impact Oil Production in the Rainforest. mongabay. [online] Available at: http://rainforests.mongabay.com/0806.htm [Accessed 16 Feb. 2016]. Clark, B. and Dutzik, T. (2002). The threat of oil and gas drilling in michigans great lakes. [online] Available at: http://research.policyarchive.org/18724.pdf [Accessed 18 Feb. 2016].

D, B. and S, R. (2007). Oil & gas exploration and production activities in Brazil: The consideration of environmental issues. [online] Available at: http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar?q=Environmental+critical+issues+% DECC, (2010) Onshore Oil & Gas Licensing [online] Strategic Environmental Assessment for a 14th and Subsequent Onshore Oil & Gas. available from <https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/66721/onshore-er.pdf> [12 February 2016]. determinig the impact significant. (2005). [online] Available at: http://scholar.google.co.uk/scholar Finer, M., Jenkins, C. and Powers, B. (2013). Potential of Best Practice to Reduce Impacts from Oil and Gas Projects in the Amazon. PLoS ONE, 8(5), p.e63022. Gibson, D. (2003). promoting environmental responsibility in seismic operation. [online] Available at: https://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors03/sum03/p10_21.pdf [Accessed 17 Feb. 2016]. Girton, C., Chapman, A., Hartong, J., Stephenson, M., Loppinet, A., Harrison, K. and Read, A. (1991). The E&P forum oil industry operating guideline for tropical rainforest. [online] Available at: https://www.citethisforme.com/cite/journal [Accessed 17 Feb. 2016]. Petersohn, E. (1998). Drilled wells in. [online] p.46. Available at: https://cumoodle.coventry.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1203795/mod_resource/content/1/Brazil%20Round%2010%20Parana%20Basin%20-%20Barra%20Bonita.pdf [Accessed 22 Feb. 2016]. Petersohn,, E. (1998). Generation and migration of hydrocarbon model. [online] Available at: https://cumoodle.coventry.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1203795/mod_resource/content/1/Brazil%20Round%2010%20Parana%20Basin%20-%20Barra%20Bonita.pdf [Accessed 22 Feb. 2016]. Petersohn, E. (1998). Geologic Cross-. [online] Available at: https://cumoodle.coventry.ac.uk/pluginfile.php/1203795/mod_resource/content/1/Brazil%20Round%2010%20Parana%20Basin%20-%20Barra%20Bonita.pdf [Accessed 22 Feb. 2016]. Rabanal, L., Kuehl, H., Mundry, R., Robbins, M. and Boesch, C. (2010) "Oil Prospecting And Its Impact On Large Rainforest Mammals In Loango National Park,". Elsevier [online] 2.

Availablefrom<http://www.eva.mpg.de/psycho/pdf/Publications_2010_PDF/Rabanal_Kuehl_Mundry_2010.pdf> [22 February 2016] SYSTEM OPERATION. (2015). [online] Available at: http://orr.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0006/18744/system-operation-consultation-2015-08-13.pdf [Accessed 25 Feb. 2016].

helcopter, s. (2012). seismic oil and gas. [online] Available at: http://www.skylinehelicopters.ca/about-us [Accessed 26 Feb. 2016].