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Drilling 101
As an engineer, I find misleading conversations and docudramas on the realities of drilling for natural gas frustrating to say the least. So I’d like to take a moment of your time and review drilling 101.
“Drilling is drilling.” Yes, it’s that simple. Even if you missed that day of class, you still graduate with this rudimentary fact. Active drilling…completion procedures…production…well stimulation by hydraulic fracturing – by any other name is still “drilling.”
This activity is currently regulated on the state level and some might ask why drilling is not completely federally regulated. Where should I start? Methods and means of drilling are common but can have characteristic geographic differences that determine the optimal drilling mud system and completion methods to be used. More importantly, each state jurisdiction has regulatory rules for drilling, completion, and production – the number of casings that must be used and where they must be set; cementing requirements; fracture gradient limitations; setback distances of well locations from drilling unit boundaries, etc. Augment this with water production, fresh water resource protections and produced water handling/disposal subject to state regulatory rules and a robust Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program or, a state-administered program determined by the EPA to meet or exceed EPA standards as a result of regulations developed and continuing to evolve from enforcement of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). Thus, there exists a strong and comprehensive measure of government oversight presently that effectively accounts for regional geological differences.
No one is disputing that further concern over drilling and production of any sort and the impact on fresh water resources should not be taken up. However, let’s focus our efforts where they will result in the most sensible applications – at the state level where issues of geologic and operational levels are best understood.
Coal-eating microorganisms used to produce natural gas
I found this interesting article the other day at the Green Optimist. It seems a company called Luca Technologies has come up with the idea of inserting microorganisms inside coal in the earth to change the coal into natural gas. It’s a great process for the environment because natural gas produces about half of the CO2 that coal does.
Luca Technologies even went so far as to add specific nutrients into the coal bed to increase the amount of gas released from the production. The process could also be used to collect useful fuel from coal that’s inaccessible to conventional mining. They’re still in the early stages but Luca is actively continuing research to better understand how the entire process works.
It’s another one of those stories with a lot of intriguing potential. The article estimates that by using this process 0.01% of US coal can produce the current annual natural-gas demand. I’ll need to do some research on that one.
True Blue Natural Gas Blog from the American Gas Association (AGA)- Natural Gas Market Indicators
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