Prospects and Limitations of Chemical and Isotopic Groundwater Monitoring to Assess the Potential Environmental Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

Mayer, Bernhard; Humez, Pauline; Becker, Veith; Nightingale, Michael; Ing, Jennifer; Kingston, Andrew; Clarkson, Christopher R.; Cahill, Aaron G.; Parker, E. S.; Cherry, John A.; Millot, Romain; Kloppmann, Wolfram; Osadetz, Kirk G.; Lawton, Donald C.

doi:10.1016/j.proeps.2015.07.076

Cited by 11 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…With the exception of sample C1 (with δ 13 C CH4 values of −46.3‰ and δD CH4 values of −194‰), the measured δ 13 C CH4 in the FRS gas samples range from −52.4 to −68.3‰, and δD CH4 values vary between −220 and −284‰. The majority of δ 13 C CH4 values are comparable to those measured for shallow mud gases obtained during initial drilling at the FRS site (Mayer et al, 2015;2018). These values are also consistent with average values recorded in Groundwater Observation Wells near to the FRS (−66.2%; Humez et al, 2016) and other nearby sedimentary basins such as the Williston basin (Hendry et al, 2016;.…”

Section: Major Gas and Stable Isotope Compositionsupporting

confidence: 54%

“…Hence, monitoring the subsurface fluids for an increase in CO 2 alone may not be sufficient to robustly identify the upward migration of injected CO 2 . Furthermore, as the stratigraphy of the site contains both abundant CH 4 and coal seams, and the shallow groundwaters are variably CH 4 saturated (Mayer et al, 2015;Cheung, 2019) it is possible that any upwardly migrating CO 2 could be absorbed onto the coal seams, if permeable (Ceglarska-Stefańska and Zarbska 2002) resulting in both desorption of CH 4 from the coals (Zhang and Liu 2017) and potential exsolution of CH 4 from groundwaters (Soltanian et al, 2018). A potentially useful consequence of the desorption process could be that monitoring for any increases in CH 4 in the ground gases may provide and alternative monitoring tool for the migration of CO 2 from the injection formation.…”

Section: Recommendations For Geochemical Monitoring Of Co 2 Migration...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes Inc., in collaboration with The University of Calgary, have constructed a Field Research Station (FRS) for the development and demonstration of monitoring technologies for the containment and conformance of subsurface fluids, in particular CO 2 (Mayer et al, 2015;2018;Lawton et al, 2017;2019;Macquet et al, 2019). The FRS is located ~22 km southwest of Brooks, Newell County, Alberta, on a 200-hectare site leased from Eastern Irrigation District and Torxen Energy (Lawton et al, 2019) (Figure 1).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-Isotope Geochemical Baseline Study of the Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes CCS Field Research Station (Alberta, Canada), Prior to CO2 Injection

Utley¹,

Martin-Roberts²,

Utting

et al. 2023

Earth Sci. Syst. Soc.

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Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is an industrial scale mitigation strategy for reducing anthropogenic CO2 from entering the atmosphere. However, for CCS to be routinely deployed, it is critical that the security of the stored CO2 can be verified and that unplanned migration from a storage site can be identified. A number of geochemical monitoring tools have been developed for this purpose, however, their effectiveness critically depends on robust geochemical baselines being established prior to CO2 injection. Here we present the first multi-well gas and groundwater characterisation of the geochemical baseline at the Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes Field Research Station. We find that all gases exhibit CO2 concentrations that are below 1%, implying that bulk gas monitoring may be an effective first step to identify CO2 migration. However, we also find that predominantly biogenic CH4 (∼90%–99%) is pervasive in both groundwater and gases within the shallow succession, which contain numerous coal seams. Hence, it is probable that any upwardly migrating CO2 could be absorbed onto the coal seams, displacing CH4. Importantly, 4He concentrations in all gas samples lie on a mixing line between the atmosphere and the elevated 4He concentration present in a hydrocarbon well sampled from a reservoir located below the Field Research Station (FRS) implying a diffusive or advective crustal flux of 4He at the site. In contrast, the measured 4He concentrations in shallow groundwaters at the site are much lower and may be explained by gas loss from the system or in situ production generated by radioactive decay of U and Th within the host rocks. Additionally, the injected CO2 is low in He, Ne and Ar concentrations, yet enriched in 84Kr and 132Xe relative to 36Ar, highlighting that inherent noble gas isotopic fingerprints could be effective as a distinct geochemical tracer of injected CO2 at the FRS.

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Section: Major Gas and Stable Isotope Compositionsupporting

confidence: 54%

Section: Recommendations For Geochemical Monitoring Of Co 2 Migration...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Multi-Isotope Geochemical Baseline Study of the Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes CCS Field Research Station (Alberta, Canada), Prior to CO2 Injection

Utley¹,

Martin-Roberts²,

Utting

et al. 2023

Earth Sci. Syst. Soc.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Monitoring during the activity of the site may be better focused than initial investigations of gas emission baselines over large areas. However, as shown for the Weyburn case, and other CCS test sites or demonstrators, as well as for areas with active unconventional gas exploitation, intrinsic fingerprinting of gas species as well as investigating chemical and isotopic characteristics of groundwater bears a great potential for system failure detection [68][69][70][71][72][73] and will usefully complete the identification and quantification of gas emanations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards a Better Knowledge of Natural Methane Releases in the French Alps: A Field Approach

2019

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We report investigations performed at some hydrocarbon gas seeps located in the French Subalpine Chains in zones of outcropping Jurassic black shales, increasing the reported number of such occurrences in this part of the Alps. We present the characteristics of each of the seeps, based on soil flux measurements and soil gas measurements. Gases emitted are CH4-rich (87–94%) with the exception of one site (78.5% CH4 + 8.2% CO2) where an active landslide may induce dilution by atmospheric air. CO2 is generally measured at low levels (<1.6%). Concentrations in C2H6 are more variable, from less than 1% to more than 2.3%. Gas is emitted over areas of various sizes. The smallest gas emission area measures only 60×20 cm, characterized by a strong hydrocarbon flux (release of about 100 kg of CH4 per year). At a second site, hydrocarbon emissions are measured over a surface of 12 m2. For this site, methane emission is evaluated at 235 kg per year and CO2 emission is 600 kg per year, 210 kg being related to gas seepage. At the third site, hydrocarbons are released over a 60 m2 area but strong gas venting is restricted to localized seeps. Methane emission is evaluated at 5.1 tons per year and CO2 emission at 1.58 tons per year, out of which 0.53 tons are attributed to gas seepage. Several historical locations remain uninvestigated at present, and numerous others may still be unknown. We outline strategies to search for such unrecorded sites. Considering the topography of the potential alpine and perialpine emission areas, the possibilities to detect gas emissions appear of the size recorded so far seem to be restricted to ground-based methods or to methods offering the possibility to point orthogonally to the soil towards the seep maximum. If such sites are to be investigated in the future in the frame of Environmental Baseline Assessment (EBA), even establishing appropriate monitoring protocols will be challenging.

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“…Petroleum exploration, extraction, transport and processing involve an inevitable risk of contamination [28,29]. The quantity and the composition of the oil spill, as well as the size of the contamination area, determine the seriousness of the pollution [30].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Vulnerability of Human Populations to Contamination from Petroleum Exploitation in the Napo River Basin: An Approach for Spatially Explicit Risk Assessment

et al. 2021

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Background: contamination of aquatic ecosystems by oil spills associated with petroleum exploitation represents a serious problem of environmental contamination that can affect human health. We developed a spatial model of contamination risk in the Ecuadorian Amazon, and evaluated the model using independent datasets on environmental contamination and clinical indicators of human health risk factors. Methods: the spatial risk of contamination for the Napo River basin was based on the calculation of a friction surface and the accessibility of possible oil contamination. Human health was evaluated using peripheral blood samples from 256 individuals. We used monitoring data on contamination to validate the spatial model of contamination risk and analyzed whether the estimated risk explained the incidence of human health risk factors. Results: our risk model showed a significant association with actual contamination detected in the study area. According to our risk model, around 30% of the territory has some level of contamination. Risk of contamination was associated with an increasing mean incidence in risk factors for human health in resident populations, but elevated contamination risk was not a significant predictor of the incidence of selected health indicators; only the incidence of inflammation was significantly increased. Conclusions: a large proportion of the populations in the Napo River basin has high vulnerability to contamination from petroleum exploitation, and this contamination risk may be traced in some indicators of health risk. Closer examination of health risk factors is warranted, and our spatial model of contamination risk can inform the design and analysis of such studies, as well as risk mitigation and management. Our approach to building the model of contamination risk could be applied in other catchments where petroleum exploitation is contemplated.

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Prospects and Limitations of Chemical and Isotopic Groundwater Monitoring to Assess the Potential Environmental Impacts of Unconventional Oil and Gas Development

Cited by 11 publications

References 7 publications

Multi-Isotope Geochemical Baseline Study of the Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes CCS Field Research Station (Alberta, Canada), Prior to CO2 Injection

Multi-Isotope Geochemical Baseline Study of the Carbon Management Canada Research Institutes CCS Field Research Station (Alberta, Canada), Prior to CO2 Injection

Towards a Better Knowledge of Natural Methane Releases in the French Alps: A Field Approach

Vulnerability of Human Populations to Contamination from Petroleum Exploitation in the Napo River Basin: An Approach for Spatially Explicit Risk Assessment

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