CANONSBRUG, Pa. — After switching to a "greener" drilling fluid, West Virginia University researchers notably reduced the toxicity of waste produced by shale oil research wells.
These findings from the Marcellus Shale Energy and Environmental Lab were presented at the Appalachian Basin Technology Workshop on July 20. It was one of several updates on research that showed the industry is addressing environmental concerns about hydraulic fracturing.
At the workshop, people from industry, government and academics heard updates on the shale gas field lab near Morgantown and other related research. Participants walked away with information about how research methods could be improved to make data collection more uniform, Doug Patchen, director of the West Virginia University Petroleum Technology Transfer Council (PTTC), told The West Virginia Record. PTTC hosted the workshop with Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America.
Additionally, in focusing on three field sites where research involves geologists and engineers, as well as social and health scientists, participants saw ways in which research has become more transparent. The U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory and folks in the industry are funding those site experiments — in West Virginia, Ohio and Texas — with the intention of reducing fracking wells’ environmental footprint.
“You can see what they’re doing and see what the companies are doing,” he said. That includes what they’re hauling on the roads and injecting into wells. “We, the public, don’t need to be as concerned as we’ve been in the past.”
When fracking wells were drilled a decade ago, people had concerns about how the shale gas industry would affect the surrounding environment and, by extension, the surrounding community. People wanted to know how much water would be used, what was in the fracking fluid and how it would affect groundwater, among other concerns.
“They’re finding they’re not contaminating groundwater (or) surface water,” Patchen said. “It helps to reduce those fears.”
Paul Ziemkiewicz, director of the West Virginia Water Research Institute at WVU, presented the research from the WVU lab that has been studying drilling waste. Waste comes in the form of rock fragments called cuttings, mud and water. Cuttings are trucked from well sites to landfills, and people have had concerns about their toxicity. A "green" drilling mud, called BioBase 365, yielded 12 samples that passed EPA tests, allowing them to be classified as non-hazardous and non-radiological, according to a WVU news release.
This kind of research is important because it’s adopted by the industry, improving aspects like efficiency, which is good for business as well as environmental impact, Patchen said.
“If you don’t do research, it’s just status quo. It’s just business as usual,” he said. “They’ll continue to use proven techniques to improve the bottom line. Research shows there are ways to do things better.”