China University of Petroleum (Beijing), School of Business Administration, 102249, 18 Fuxue Road, Changping District, Beijing, China.
China University of Petroleum (Beijing), Academy of Chinese Energy Strategy, 102249, 18 Fuxue Road, Changping District, Beijing, China.
J Environ Manage. 2018 Nov 15;226:13-21. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.08.031. Epub 2018 Aug 10.
This study investigates the use of water for extracting shale gas in the Sichuan Basin of China. Both net water use and water intensity (i.e., water use per unit of gas produced) of shale wells are estimated by applying a process-based life cycle inventory (LCI) model. The results show that the net water use and water intensity are around 24500 m/well and 1.9 m water/10 m gas respectively, and that the fracturing and completion stage of shale gas extraction accounts for the largest share in net water use. A comparison shows that China's water use for shale gas extraction is generally higher than that of other countries. By considering the predicted annual drilling activities in the Sichuan Basin, we find that the annual water demand for shale gas development is likely to be negligible compared to total regional water supply. However, considering the water demand for shale gas extraction and the water demand from other sectors may make water availability a significant concern for China's shale gas development in the future.
本研究调查了中国四川盆地开采页岩气过程中用水的情况。通过应用基于过程的生命周期清单（LCI）模型，估算了页岩气井的净用水量和水强度（即每生产单位天然气的用水量）。结果表明，净用水量和水强度分别约为 24500m/井和 1.9m 水/10m 气，其中压裂和完井阶段占净用水量的最大份额。比较表明，中国页岩气开采的用水量普遍高于其他国家。考虑到四川盆地预计的年度钻井活动，我们发现，与区域总供水量相比，页岩气开发的年度需水量可能微不足道。然而，考虑到页岩气开采的需水量以及其他部门的需水量，未来水资源的可得性可能成为中国页岩气开发的一个重大关注点。
