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dc.contributor.authorO'Sullivan, Francis
dc.contributor.authorPaltsev, Sergey
dc.date.accessioned2012-11-30T19:10:52Z
dc.date.available2012-11-30T19:10:52Z
dc.date.issued2012-11
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/75120
dc.description.abstractEstimates of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from shale gas production and use are controversial. Here we assess the level of GHG emissions from shale gas well hydraulic fracturing operations in the United States during 2010. Data from each of the approximately 4,000 horizontal shale gas wells brought online that year is used to show that about 900 Gg CH4 of potential fugitive emissions were generated by these operations, or 228 Mg CH4 per well—a figure inappropriately used in analyses of the GHG impact of shale gas. In fact, along with simply venting gas produced during the completion of shale gas wells, two additional techniques are widely used to handle these potential emissions, gas flaring, and reduced emissions “green” completions. The use of flaring and reduced emission completions reduce the levels of actual fugitive emissions from shale well completion operations to about 216 GgCH4, or 50 Mg CH4 per well, a release substantially lower than several widely quoted estimates. Although fugitive emissions from the overall natural gas sector are a proper concern, it is incorrect to suggest that shale gas-related hydraulic fracturing has substantially altered the overall GHG intensity of natural gas production.en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipThis work was not supported by any sponsored research funding from commercial or other entities. MIT, where the authors are employed, receives funds from numerous industrial and government sources, but the work on this paper received no such funding.en_US
dc.language.isoen_USen_US
dc.publisherMIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Changeen_US
dc.relation.ispartofseriesJoint Program Report Series;234
dc.rightsAn error occurred on the license name.en
dc.rights.uriAn error occurred getting the license - uri.en
dc.titleShale Gas Production: Potential versus Actual GHG Emissionsen_US
dc.typeWorking Paperen_US
dc.identifier.citationReport 234en_US


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