Biogenic Methane Generation in Shallow Shale Gas Systems

Date
2013-01-21
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Abstract
Abstract Shale gas is an unconventional gas source now widely in production in the Appalachian and Michigan Basins in the United States. Shale gas production in the United States has increased tremendously over the past decade and many companies are now looking to Canada to expand gas production from shale gas sources in the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin (WCSB). Natural gas is a favourable alternative fuel to other hydrocarbons because it results in lower greenhouse gas and carbon emissions. In North America there are several shale gas plays yet the potential for shale gas systems within Canada is still being evaluated. As conventional natural gas production in Canada declines shale gas may offset this decline in Canada. The WCSB contains over 1,000 Tcf of gas in its shale deposits thus the prize is significant. The research documented in this thesis focuses on understanding methane gas transport and generation mechanisms, identifying the microorganisms present in shale gas systems, determining how to quantify and model biogenic gas production rates, and determining how to enhance biogenic gas rates by substrate addition. In the near future as technology and research develops, methanogenesis may be a significant and sustainable source of natural gas production in shallow reservoirs. The key outcomes of the proposed research are to quantify the amount of biogenic gas produced in shallow shale reservoirs using a new gas material balance theory, reactive engineering modelling, and numerical reservoir simulation. Additionally, methane production rates were determined within the laboratory using produced water and core samples from shallow shale gas wells and the microorganisms that produce methane gas within the reservoir were identified at the family level.
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Engineering--Chemical
Citation
Cokar, M. (2013). Biogenic Methane Generation in Shallow Shale Gas Systems (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/25124