One vertical “science well” & four horizontal production wells — (click on the geographic image above to enlarge it)

From an Article by WVU News, November 6, 2014

As the Appalachian Region feels the impact of the burgeoning shale-energy industry, a consortium of researchers and industrial partners led by West Virginia University, with the assistance of The Ohio State University, will conduct the first-ever long-term, comprehensive field study of a natural resource that has changed the country’s – and the world’s – energy supply.

The five-year, $11 million agreement with the U.S. Department of Energy will allow the research team to create and manage the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory, a field site and dedicated research laboratory at the Morgantown Industrial Park.

Together with the DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and Northeast Natural Energy – a Charleston-based private oil and natural gas company that owns and operates the site – the lab will engage a unique and diverse team of geoscientists, hydrologists, engineers, ecologists, social scientists and public health professionals. The team will identify and demonstrate technologies required for best practices in environmentally responsible shale development, from drilling to completion through production.

Additionally, the lab will offer real-world education and training for undergraduate and graduate students to address the complex technical, environmental and social issues surrounding unconventional energy development and production.

Ohio State will work with WVU to provide support of subsurface scientific investigations of the geology and microbiology from samples taken in the drill hole, along with guidance and support for the environmental work at the site.

“We have deep roots in West Virginia and it is our goal to help any way we can,” said Mike John, chief executive officer of Northeast Natural Energy. “Our participation in the this project is driven by our desire to help improve science, enhance technology and expand understanding of the natural gas industry.”

Shale gas is natural gas that is trapped inside formations of shale – sedimentary rock found deep underground. To release it, shale-gas producers drill a deep vertical well and then use a combination of technologies to target horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) – which uses pressurized water, sand and chemicals to crack subsurface rock and create fissures that release natural gas.

Additionally, recent news reports state that fracking and other unconventional techniques have already doubled North American natural gas reserves to three quadrillion cubic feet, which is nearly equal to 500 billion barrels of oil, or almost double the crude inventory of Saudi Arabia – the world’s top oil producer.

The Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory will allow the team to address critical gaps of knowledge of the characterization, basic subsurface science, and completion and stimulation strategies that enable more efficient resource recovery from fewer wells with reduced environmental impact.

The primary objectives of the project include providing a long-term research site with an existing well and documented production and environment baseline from two previously completed wells.

A dedicated scientific-observation well will be used to collect detailed subsurface data and to monitor and test technologies in additional wells to be drilled periodically over the project lifetime.

The site also offers a unique opportunity to enable an open, collaborative and integrated program of science and technology development and testing to minimize environmental impacts while maximizing economic benefits.

The following areas at WVU are participating in the study ~ • Civil and Environmental Engineering, • Geology and Geography, • Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering, • Public Administration, • Public Health, • Regional Research Institute, • Geographic Information Systems Tech Center, • West Virginia Water Research Institute.

The project is operated under the purview of a 2013 memorandum of understanding between WVU and Ohio State. As part of the shale-energy partnership, the two institutions agreed to work collaboratively to develop a joint program of research in the Appalachian Region’s developing shale energy industry.

-WVU- (11/6/2014)

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UPDATE ~ The MSEEL project ended September 30, 2021 and has 90 days to submit a final report. A draft final report was submitted to DOE on December 21. Revisions have been requested by DOE and a final report is expected by the end of the year. It will be made available through OSTI. For more information on MSEEL go to MSEEL.org or edx.netl.doe.gov.

SOURCE ~ Robert Vagnetti, MSEEL-federal project manager (12/27/21)

Research on Marcellus shale drilling now underway in Monongalia County

From an Article by Luke Torrance, Pittsburgh Business Times, December 24, 2018

Testing is set to begin this week in West Virginia as part of an effort to advance hydraulic fracturing techniques that would allow the extraction of natural gas to be done more efficiently.

The drilling tests are being carried out by the Marcellus Shale Engineering and Environmental Laboratory (MSEEL), a research partnership between West Virginia University, Northeast Natural Energy, and the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

The tests will seek to improve gas recovery from horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, a method in which rock is fractured by pressurized liquid, releasing the natural gas. They will be carried out near Core, W.Va., which is located about 15 miles northwest of Morgantown.

Previous research by WVU and Northeast Natural Energy led to the creation of stimulation zones that offered the best well sites around natural fractures in the shale. These sites were monitored using seismic and fiber optic distributed temperature and acoustic sensing, a method that is too costly to be used on all wells.

“Therefore, aided by advanced numerical modeling developed by WVU, the project team will compare the use and results of new completion/stimulation techniques at the Core site to the large array of relatively cost-prohibitive techniques used in the Morgantown Industrial Park wells,” according to NETL.

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Man dies from injuries sustained in explosion at MarkWest facility in Washington County, PA

From an Article by Luke Torrance, Pittsburgh Business Times, December 20, 2018

A man who was critically injured in an explosion at the MarkWest facility in Washington County, PA, last week has died, according to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner.

Jeffrey Fisher, 61, of Salem, W.Va., was one of four workers injured last week after an incident near two temporary tanks that were on-site for routine maintenance led to an explosion on December 13th. The men were working at the MarkWest facility in Houston, Pa., which is owned by Marathon Petroleum.

Senators Whitehouse & Manchin at National Energy Technology Laboratory, Morgantown, WV

Sen. Whitehouse Proposes Carbon Tax to Repay Citizens for Pollution Costs

From an Article by Anstasia Pantsios, EcoWatch.com, October 29, 2014

Delivering a keynote address at the New York University Institute for Policy Integrity’s fall conference, in which he noted “The world has just set some dubious records. 2014 is on pace to tie or become the hottest year on record,” U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse announced that he plans to introduce legislation creating a carbon pollution fee next month. He said he will reveal details in the next few weeks.

It was an appropriate announcement to make at the conference whose theme this year was “The Future of U.S. Climate Policy: Coal, Carbon Markets and the Clean Air Act.”

“Pollution-driven climate change hurts our economy, damages our infrastructure and harms public health,” he told his audience. “However, none of these costs are factored into the price of the coal or oil that’s burned to release this carbon. The big oil and coal companies have offloaded those costs onto society.

Economics 101 tells us that’s a market failure; in the jargon, that negative externalities are inefficient. If a company participates in an activity that causes harm, it should have to compensate those harmed.”

“By making carbon pollution free, we subsidize fossil fuel companies to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars annually,” he continued. “By making carbon pollution free, we fix the game, favoring polluters over newer and cleaner technologies that harvest the wind, sun and waves. Corporate polluters, not bearing the costs of their products, are in effect cheating their competitors.”

The Rhode Island Democrat, chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Subcommittee on Clean Air and Nuclear Safety, has long been an advocate for climate change action. His official website features a page called “Climate Change: Time to Wake Up” and he has made more than 85 speeches in the Senate on the topic, giving one per week.

Whitehouse praised the Obama administration’s limit on carbon emissions from power plants, announced in June, saying “It will change the way polluters think.” But he’d like to take the next step of making polluters pay for their cost to society. He said that not only would it reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality, it would generate significant new revenue for the federal government, perhaps as much as two trillion dollars in the first decade.

He pointed to some of the positive uses that money could be applied to, including cutting taxes, relieving student debt, increasing Social Security benefits and providing transition assistance to workers in fossil fuel industries.

“It’s win-win-win,” he said. “We can use this revenue to do big things; repair a marketplace failure; and guide the economy toward lower emissions, enhanced productivity and a sustainable future.”

Whitehouse also drew a direct line between the Republican party’s increasingly stubborn climate denier stance and the U.S. Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision, which allowed a gusher of corporate money into campaigns.

“Not long ago, Republicans joined Democrats in pushing for action on climate,” Whitehouse said. “Leading Republican voices agreed that the dangers of climate change were real. Leading Republican voices agreed that carbon emissions were the culprit. And leading Republican voices agreed that Congress had the responsibility to act. Then the heartbeat flatlined. Republican calls for climate action fell silent.

Something happened, right around 2010. It was the Supreme Court’s 2010 decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission—one of the court’s most disgraceful decisions. Improper fact-finding by the five conservative activists on the Supreme Court concluded that corporate spending could not ever corrupt elections—just couldn’t do it. By some magic, it’s pure.”

He says that although his Republican colleagues represent many states ravaged by its effects, “Most won’t even utter the words ‘climate change’ on the floor of the Senate at all. It’s not safe to, ever since Citizens United allowed the bullying, polluting special interests to bombard our elections with their attack ads and their threats.”

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Senator Manchin Hosts Tour of WV Energy Facilities for Senator Whitehouse

From a Press Release, U. S. Senate, Washington, DC, October 22, 2014

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) hosted Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) in West Virginia to continue their ongoing discussions about finding meaningful solutions to balancing our nation’s energy needs with our environmental concerns. Senator Manchin emphasized the importance of developing new fossil fuel technology to continue producing affordable and reliable electricity, while steadily reducing carbon emissions and addressing the adverse effects of climate change. Senator Manchin toured several coastal areas of Rhode Island on October 10.

Due to inclement weather, travel restraints required the day’s agenda to be slightly readjusted. Senator Manchin and Senator Whitehouse toured the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) to gather information about the facility’s development of groundbreaking energy projects, including details on how to operationalize carbon capture and storage.

Then, they traveled to Longview Power to learn about the advanced technologies at their coal-fired power plant. They also attended a briefing led by officials from Dominion Energy, American Electric Power and FirstEnergy to discuss the utility companies’ actions to produce cleaner power from their coal facilities and the impact stricter environmental regulations have on their ability to ensure reliable and affordable electricity throughout the region and this country. Finally, they met with officials from PJM Interconnection to hear about the importance of reliability to our nation’s electrical grid.

“It has been a pleasure showing Senator Whitehouse a few of our innovative energy facilities in West Virginia and continuing our discussions about the importance of investing in innovative technologies that can produce clean power while also making sure Americans are guaranteed affordable, reliable electricity,” Senator Manchin said. “We agree that we must face the reality of climate change without delay, but we also agree that fossil fuels will be a vital part of our energy portfolio for decades to come. Working together, I hope that we can find that balance and show not only America, but the world, that we can look past our differences to better this planet now and for our future.”

“I thank Senator Manchin for hosting me in the Mountain State today and for showing me the innovative work being done here to minimize carbon pollution from fossil fuels,” said Senator Whitehouse. “From improving energy efficiency and increasing renewable energy use to investing in technologies to capture and recycle carbon pollution, there is much we can do that will benefit both coastal states like Rhode Island and fossil-fuel-producing states like West Virginia. I look forward to continuing to work with Senator Manchin on these issues.”

Once Congress returns from its recess after the election season, Senators Manchin and Whitehouse will continue to work with the Department of Energy (DOE) to ensure its available $8 billion in loan guarantees and $1.7 billion in available advanced fossil grants are used to invest in innovative technologies, including those that capture, utilize, and sequester carbon dioxide.

Pratts newswire reported on a NETL research project on June 8^th. Federal researchers are testing whether hydraulic fracturing fluids can travel thousands of feet via geologic faults into drinking water aquifers close to the surface. A fault from the Marcellus Shale formation, which is thousands of feet below the surface, could provide “a quick pathway for fracking fluids to migrate upwards,” said Richard Hammack, a spokesman for the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL).

The experiment is being carried out at a site in Greene County in southwestern Pennsylvania where conventional shallow wells were drilled and long since capped, NETL said on its website. The study will provide regulators, landowners and the general public “an unbiased, science-based source of information which can guide decisions about shale gas development,” NETL said. The study also will help the industry “develop better methods to monitor for undesired environmental changes” and develop technology or management practices to address the changes.

Speaking at a congressional briefing in Washington, Hammack said faults “form a plane that allows fluids to move up through the frack.” Some faults can be easily seen and avoided, but Hammack said some faults are not easily detected and could extend from the Marcellus Shale formation into other formations close to the surface. The testing “is taking place right now,” Hammack said. “It should be completed next week. Within a month, we will have the micro-seismic data that will show how high fracture fluids have migrated upwards” toward the surface.

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Critical comments on the above described project have come from the Marcellus Drilling News (MDN), as posted on their web-site under the title “NETL Study of Faults & Fracking, Are We Being Set Up?”

MDN notices a couple of interesting things about this study by the NETL. First, this is the first time MDN has heard of this study being conducted. For such an important study, you would think it would be well-publicized. Coming “out of nowhere” raises a red flag. Why did NETL hide the fact they were conducting this study?

Second, proclaiming Greene County, PA the perfect spot to conduct these tests, and that it can serve as a proxy, as an example for all geographies, strikes MDN as stretching the facts the fit the science. Not all geographies are the same. The results of the NETL study in Greene County can conceivably be relevant for that part of PA—but not even for all of PA, nor for NY, nor for OH or WV either. How prevalent are these faults? Are they more numerous in some geographies and not others?

The announcement that the results from this study will be ready within a month and “then we’ll know, we’ll have unbiased science” sure feels like a set up. It feels like the researchers have already jiggered the results the way they want them to go and they know what those results will be, and it won’t be favorable to the drilling industry.

Good science, real science (and not junk science) is repeatable, measurable, and testable. So before we simply accept the results of the NETL study as the authoritative, last word on whether or not fracking fluids can migrate, other scientists will need time to test and verify those results.

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Of course, this is good logic but it works both ways.  If no problems are found with these particular wells or in this particular county, it does not mean that contaminating faults are not present with other wells, in other counties or other States. Greene County, in the southwest corner of Pennsylvania, borders three counties of West Virginia, namely Monongalia, Wetzel and Marshall counties. So clearly, the results of the NETL study will be looked at closely here in West Virginia.