MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logoDSpace@MIT

MIT
View Item 
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
  • DSpace@MIT Home
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • MIT Open Access Articles
  • View Item
JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

Shale gas production: potential versus actual greenhouse gas emissions

Author(s)
O'Sullivan, Francis Martin; Paltsev, Sergey
Thumbnail
DownloadOSullivan-2012-Shale gas production.pdf (333.2Kb)
PUBLISHER_CC

Publisher with Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution

Terms of use
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/
Metadata
Show full item record
Abstract
Estimates 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 4000 horizontal shale gas wells brought online that year are used to show that about 900 Gg CH[subscript 4] of potential fugitive emissions were generated by these operations, or 228 Mg CH[subscript 4] 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 emission '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 Gg CH[subscript 4], or 50 Mg CH[subscript 4] 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.
Date issued
2012-11
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/78849
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Joint Program on the Science & Policy of Global Change; MIT Energy Initiative
Journal
Environmental Research Letters
Publisher
IOP Publishing
Citation
O’Sullivan, Francis, and Sergey Paltsev. “Shale Gas Production: Potential Versus Actual Greenhouse Gas Emissions.” Environmental Research Letters 7.4 (2012): 044030. ©2012 IOP Publishing
Version: Final published version
ISSN
1748-9326

Collections
  • MIT Open Access Articles

Browse

All of DSpaceCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

My Account

Login

Statistics

OA StatisticsStatistics by CountryStatistics by Department
MIT Libraries homeMIT Libraries logo

Find us on

Twitter Facebook Instagram YouTube RSS

MIT Libraries navigation

SearchHours & locationsBorrow & requestResearch supportAbout us
PrivacyPermissionsAccessibility
MIT
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Content created by the MIT Libraries, CC BY-NC unless otherwise noted. Notify us about copyright concerns.