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UNCONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS RESOURCES: AN OVERVIEW COVERING THE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF PRODUCTION
Citation:
Hoffman, L. UNCONVENTIONAL NATURAL GAS RESOURCES: AN OVERVIEW COVERING THE RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF PRODUCTION. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/7-82/053.
Description:
This report covers natural gas from the following unconventional sources: western tight sands, Devonian shale, coal deposits, geopressured aquifers, and landfills. This report covers the resource base, potential production levels, and associated environmental aspects. Over the past 10 years our natural gas reserve level has been declining. At year end 1979 our reserve to production ratio for the entire U.S. was less than 10 years. This has occurred even though exploration for natural gas has been increasing both in terms of number of wells drilled and total footage drilled. There is potential for our natural gas supply to be materially augmented by gas from unconventional resources. In this regard, gas from western tight sands, Devonian shale, and coal seams potentially could provide 1 Tcf of gas in 1985 with significantly greater amounts in 2000. Over the same period, the potential gas from geopressured aquifers and landfills are believed to be considerably less. The environmental concerns vary with source and are minimal for tight sands, Devonian shale, and landfills. Conceivably, significant environmental concerns could be associated with gas recovery from geopressured aquifers.