Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences , University of Arizona , Tucson , Arizona 85721 , United States.
Department of Geological Sciences , University of Saskatchewan , Saskatoon , Saskatchewan S7N 5E2 , Canada.
Environ Sci Technol. 2019 Feb 5;53(3):1063-1077. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.8b05807. Epub 2019 Jan 9.
High-volume, hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) is widely applied for natural gas and oil production from shales, coals, or tight sandstone formations in the United States, Canada, and Australia, and is being widely considered by other countries with similar unconventional energy resources. Secure retention of fluids (natural gas, saline formation waters, oil, HVHF fluids) during and after well stimulation is important to prevent unintended environmental contamination, and release of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere. Here, we critically review state-of-the-art techniques and promising new approaches for identifying oil and gas production from unconventional reservoirs to resolve whether they are the source of fugitive methane and associated contaminants into shallow aquifers. We highlight future research needs and propose a phased program, from generic baseline to highly specific analyses, to inform HVHF and unconventional oil and gas production and impact assessment studies. These approaches may also be applied to broader subsurface exploration and development issues (e.g., groundwater resources), or new frontiers of low-carbon energy alternatives (e.g., subsurface H storage, nuclear waste isolation, geologic CO sequestration).
高容量水力压裂（HVHF）在美国、加拿大和澳大利亚被广泛应用于从页岩、煤或致密砂岩地层中开采天然气和石油，并且在其他拥有类似非常规能源的国家也被广泛考虑。在井的刺激过程中和之后，安全地保留流体（天然气、盐水地层水、油、HVHF 流体）对于防止意外的环境污染以及温室气体向大气的释放非常重要。在这里，我们批判性地回顾了用于识别非常规储层中油气生产的最新技术和有前途的新方法，以确定它们是否是浅层含水层中逸散甲烷和相关污染物的来源。我们强调了未来的研究需求，并提出了一个分阶段的计划，从通用基线到高度具体的分析，以告知 HVHF 和非常规石油和天然气生产以及影响评估研究。这些方法也可以应用于更广泛的地下勘探和开发问题（例如，地下水资源），或低碳能源替代品的新领域（例如，地下 H 储存、核废料隔离、地质 CO2 封存）。
