Energy production and well site disturbance from conventional and unconventional natural gas development in West Virginia

Abstract

Natural gas production from the Appalachian region has reached record levels, primarily due to the rapid increase in development of unconventional oil and gas (UOG) resources. In 2020, over 65,000 conventional wells reported natural gas production; however, this only represented 5% of the total natural gas produced. The remaining 95% of natural gas production can be attributed to 3,901 UOG wells. There has been a wide body of research on disturbance trends related to unconventional development in the region; however, there is limited characterization of disturbance related to production of conventional oil and gas (COG) or research that details energy production in relation to land disturbance. This study compares land disturbance from COG and UOG development as well as energy production. Land disturbance related to COG and UOG development was assessed for wells drilled during 2009–2012. Production data were summarized for the same wells during the period of 2009–2020. The average area disturbed for COG pads was 0.82 ha while UOG pads disturbed 4.02 ha. Results from this study showed that COG wells disturbed significantly less land area during construction; however, UOG wells produced almost 28 times more energy per hectare of land disturbed. This energy production imbalance as well as the over 65,000 COG wells reporting production in 2020, indicates that the retirement and restoration of COG infrastructure could be done without significantly impacting total energy production. Continued research that includes ecosystem services and carbon sequestration opportunities in relation to production losses from retiring existing infrastructure should be considered. Graphical abstract