BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

ByEdIreland,Ph.D. AstudyonairemissionsfromBarnettShalenaturalgasproductionactivitieswas recentlyreleasedbyanengineeringprofessor,Dr.ProfessorAlArmendarizat SouthernMethodistUniversity.EntitledEmissionsfromNaturalGasProduction intheBarnettShaleAreaandOpportunitiesforCostEffectiveImprovements, thestudywascommissionedbytheEnvironmentalDefenseFund,aNewYork Citybasedenvironmentalgroup.ThestudywasreleasedintheAustinofficesof StateRepresentativeLonBurnam,DFortWorth,whoservesonthe EnvironmentalRegulationCommittee. TheEDFstudyfocusesonthe9countyDallasFt.Worthozonenonattainment area(DFWNAA)asdesignatedbytheEnvironmentalProtectionAgencywhich includesTarrant,Denton,Parker,Johnson,Ellis,Collin,Dallas,Rockwalland Kaufmancounties.However,thestudyreferstoemissionsfortheentire21 countyBarnettShaleregion.TheEDFstudyattemptstoestimateemissionsof thepollutantsnitrogenoxides(NOx),volatileorganiccompounds(VOC), hazardousairpollutants(HAPs),andofthegreenhousegasesmethane(CH4)and carbondioxide(CO2).EstimatingemissionsofNOxandVOCisimportantbecause thesepollutantscancontributetothecreationofozoneduringcertainweather conditions.HighozonelevelsintheDFWareaareresponsiblefortheareabeing designatedanonattainmentareabytheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency. TheprimaryresultfromtheEDFstudywasacomparisonoftheamountof pollutantswhichcomefromnaturalgasproductionactivitiesina21countyarea tothatwhichisgeneratedfromonroadmobilesourcesandairportsinthe9 countyDFWNAA. After35pagesofanalysis,theEDFstudyoffersthefollowingconclusions:

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

Emissionsofozoneandfineparticlesmogformingcompounds(NOxand VOC)willbeapproximately191tonsperdayonanannualaveragebasisin 2009.Duringthesummer,VOCemissionswillincrease,raisingtheNOx+ VOCtotalto307tonsperday,greaterthanthecombinedemissionsfrom themajorairportsandonroadmotorvehiclesintheDFWmetropolitan area. KeepinmindthattheEDFstudyiscomparingtheairemissionsfromcarsand truckstotheairemissionsfromthenaturalgasproductionactivitiesthemselves, nottoairemissionsasthenaturalgasisburnedinhomesorbyotherindustries. Thestudyassertsthat:AllcategoriesintheBarnettShalecontributedtoVOC emissions,butthelargestgroupofVOCsourceswascondensatetankvents.If naturalgasproductionactivitiesareresponsibleforthecreationofmoreozone thanallthecarsandtrucksinnorthTexas,asimpliedintheEDFstudy,thatisa significantfinding.Therefore,suchanimplicationdeservesclosescrutiny. AsimpletestoftheEDFstudysimplicationistocomparemeasurementsofair qualityintheareatothenumberofBarnettShalewellsthathavebeendrilled.If theEDFstudysimplicationiscorrect,thengiventheexponentialriseinthe numberofBarnettShalewells,ozonelevelsintheregionshouldhaveincreased oratleastremainedsteadyinspiteoftheemissionsreductionsaccomplishedin the9countyDFWNAAoverthelastseveralyears.

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

Instead,thegraphshowsthatasmoreandmoreBarnettShalewellshavebeen drilled,ozonelevelsintheareahavedecreased(aswelltheyshouldgiventhe emissionsreductionsaccomplishedinthe9countyDFWNAA).Thisdatasuggests thatthereisnoclearrelationshipbetweenBarnettShalenaturalgasproduction activitiesandthehighestaverageozonelevels. Sowhyistherenoclearrelationshipbetweenthenumberofnaturalgaswellsand highestaverageozonelevels,contrarytotheimplicationsintheEDFstudy? Thereareseveralprimaryreasons. First,mostofthenaturalgasproducedinandaroundthe9countyDFWNAAis verydrygas.Thereason,geophysicistssay,isthatthispartoftheBarnettShale isthermallymature,meaningthatthesenaturalgaswellsproduceno associatedoilorotherliquids.ThismeansthatthevastmajorityofBarnettShale wellsinthe9countyDFWNAAdonotrequiretanksforcondensatestorage. LittleornoVOCisemittedfromthesegaswells.Thefollowingmapshowsthe

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

approximateboundaryareasofdrygas(pink),richergaswithcondensate production(yellow),andevenrichergaswithoilproduction(green)inthe BarnettShale.

IndividualwelldatafromtheTexasRailroadCommissionshowninthetable belowalsodemonstratesthisfact.

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

9-County EPA DFW Non-Attainment Area Barnett Shale Wells in November, 2008
County COLLIN DALLAS DENTON ELLIS JOHNSON KAUFMAN PARKER ROCKWALL TARRANT 9-County Area No. of Zero Condensate Wells 0 8 1,838 29 2,290 0 585 0 1,970 6,720 No. of Measureable Condensate Wells 0 0 696 0 110 0 511 0 99 1,416 Total Wells 0 8 2,534 29 2,400 0 1,096 0 2,069 8,136 % Zero Condensate Wells 100 100 72.5 100 95.4 100 53.4 100 95.2 82.6

Sources:RailroadCommissionofTexas;PowellBarnettShaleNewsletter.

TheresultsarethesameifwelookatalloilandgaswellsintheBarnettShale area,notjustwellsthatproduceonlyfromtheBarnettShale.Thetablebelow showsthat82.9percentofallgaswellsinthe9countyDFWNAAproducezero condensate.

9-County EPA DFW Non-Attainment Area ALL Wells in November, 2008
County COLLIN DALLAS DENTON ELLIS JOHNSON KAUFMAN PARKER ROCKWALL TARRANT 9-County Area No. of Zero Condensate Wells 0 8 2,080 29 2,290 0 2,920 0 2,051 9,378 No. of Measureable Condensate Wells 0 0 900 0 110 0 825 0 102 1,937 Total Wells 0 8 2,980 29 2,400 0 3,745 0 2,153 11,315 % Zero Condensate Wells 100 100 69.8 100 95.4 100 78.0 100 95.3 82.9

Sources:RailroadCommissionofTexas;PowellBarnettShaleNewsletter.

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

Infact,approximately65%ofthecondensateproducedinthe21countyBarnett ShaleregionisproducedincountieswestoftheDFWNAA.Also,ofthe condensatethatisproducedintheDFWNAA(theother35%)mostisproducedin thewesternandnorthwesternedgeoftheDFWNAAinDentonandParker counties. Second,abasicflawintheEDFstudyisthatitassumesthatwellsinthe21county BarnettShaleareathatdoproducecondensateallhavethesameamountofVOC emissionsperbarrelofcondensateproduced,regardlessoftheproduction pressureofthewellsorothersitespecificvariables.Thestudynoted: CondensateandoiltankscanbesignificantemittersofVOC,methaneand HAPs.AstudywaspublishedbyURSCorporationwhichpresentedthe resultsofalargeinvestigationofemissionsfromcondensateandoiltanks inTexas.Tanksweresampledfrom33locationsacrossEastTexas, includinglocationsintheBarnettShalearea.Condensatetanksinthe BarnettShaleweresampledinDentonandParkerCounties,andoiltanks weresampledinMontagueCounty.TheresultsfromtheURSinvestigation wereusedinthisstudytocalculateBarnettShalespecificemissionfactors forVOC,CH4,HAPs,andCO2,insteadofusingamoregeneralTexaswide factor. Fromanengineeringstandpoint,itissimplywrongtoapplyoneVOCemissions factortoallcondensatestoragetankslocatedinthe21countyBarnettShalearea andexpectareliableestimateofemissions.Thisisbecausewellproducing pressuregreatlyaffectspotentialVOCemissionsfromacondensatestoragetank. Additionally,althoughtheURSstudyhadsamplestakenfromcountieswithinthe BarnettShalearea,thereisnoindicationthatthesamplesthemselveswere actuallyfromtheBarnettShaleproductionzone.Also,manytimestheseVOC emissionsarecontrolledbytheoperatortorecovervaluableproductsortomeet TCEQpermittingguidelines.AnevenworseflawintheEDFstudywastoassume thatsummertimeVOCemissionsfromcondensatestoragetanksare4.8times higherthanthoseduringtherestoftheyear.Thisassumptionisnotevencloseto

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

realitybasedonthermodynamicprincipalsandresultsinagrosslyoverestimated numberforVOCemissionsduringthesummer. Third,windrosedatafromtheDFWAirport(shownbelowforthemonthofJuly) demonstratesthatduringthesummermonthsthewindblowsfromthewestor northwestonlyabout4%ofthetime.Therefore,duringthesummermonths,any VOCemissionsactuallyemittedfromcondensateproductiontanksincounties westornorthwestoftheDFWNAA,andeveninwesternDentonandParker counties,isblownawayfromtheDFWmetroplexthevastmajorityofthetime. TheprobabilityofanyactualVOCemissionsfromthesewesternareas significantlyimpactinghighaverage8hourozonevaluesintheDFWNAAislikely nearzero.

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

ThereareothersignificantflawsintheEDFstudythataretootechnicaltoair withinanypublicarticleordebate.Themainpointtokeepinmindisthatitisthe TCEQthatisresponsibleforevaluatingpollutantemissionsintheDFWNAAand theirimpactonozoneformation.BasedonguidancefromtheEPA,Texas developedaStateImplementationPlan(SIP)in2007toaddresstheseemissions challenges.Aspartofthisplan,theTexasCommissiononEnvironmentalQuality releasedestimatedfiguresfor2010NOxemissionsbysource.TheTCEQ considersemissionsofNOxasthemostimportantprecursortotheformationof ozoneintheDFWNAA,ratherthanVOC,basedonsensitivityairmodeling studies.ThisiswhymostofthemajoremissionscontroleffortsintheDFWNAA havebeentargetedforsignificantreductionofNOxemissions.TheTCEQdata indicatesthatthemajority(38%)ofNOxemissionsinthemetroplexareaarefrom

BarnettShaleNaturalGasProductionandAirQuality

onroadvehicles,suchascarsandtrucks.Nonroadmobilesources,suchas planes,trains,andconstructionequipment(includingsomeoftheemissionsfrom naturalgasproductionactivities)comeinaclosesecondat32%.Emissionsfrom areasources(includingmostoftheoilandgasindustryemissions)comein significantlylowerat9%.

Asyoucansee,everyoneacrosstheboardsharesinthechallengetoreduce emissionsandimproveairquality.Thenaturalgasindustryisnoexception.For instance,aspartofTexas2007SIP,compressorenginesover50HParenow requiredtomeetNOxemissionsstandardsthatarethreetofourtimesmorestrict thancurrentEPAstandards.Thenaturalgasindustrywillspendoverahundred milliondollarstoinstallemissionscontrolequipmentoncompressorenginesand monitoringtomeetthesefederalandstatestandardsandtodemonstratefuture compliance.Nonetheless,thecitizenscanbeassuredthatthenaturalgasindustry willcontinuetoworkwithTCEQinacooperativemannertoachieveanaccurate assessmentofemissionsintheDFWNAAanddotheirparttoachievethenew EPAozonestandardof75ppb.

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Insummary,itisclearthatthedataintheEDFstudydoesnotsupportits implicationthatnaturalgasproductionactivitiesintheBarnettShalecontribute toozonelevelsintheDFWmetroplextothesameextent,orevenclosetothe sameextent,asonroadvehicles.Tothecontrary,naturalgas,includingthat fromtheBarnettShale,offersawaytohelpcleanuptheair.Naturalgasisthe cleanestburninghydrocarbonandisconsideredtobethebridgefueltothe futureofmorerenewableandcleanerfuels.Naturalgaswillbethefuelofchoice fordecadestocomeforelectricpowergenerationandinnaturalgaspowered vehicles.ProductionfromtheBarnettShalehasbeenandwillcontinuetobean importantpartofthetotalsupplyofnaturalgasintheUnitedStates.