The document provides an overview of shale gas exploration in the UK, including: 1) It explains the process of shale gas extraction, which involves drilling horizontally and using hydraulic fracturing to release natural gas trapped in shale rock formations deep underground. 2) It acknowledges some of the environmental and social risks of shale gas extraction such as water usage, induced seismicity, and community impacts, and outlines the regulatory framework and monitoring in place. 3) It argues that shale gas could make a substantial contribution to the UK's energy needs and help reduce reliance on imports as North Sea gas production declines, while having a relatively small surface footprint compared to other energy sources.

1. 1
The energy quest, how shale
gas fits in, what it means for
you
Mark Linder,
Cuadrilla Resources
March 6, 2013
Altrincham Grammar School for Boys

2. 2
• What is the shale gas process?
• What are the risks? (such as groundwater pollution, water
usage, emissions, visability, “earthquakes” etc.)
• How does gas fit into our energy strategy?
• Why energy is an exciting area of study (and an exciting
career)
Topics

3. 3
What is shale gas?
• Normal natural gas that never “escaped” from source rock
• Trapped in nanometre sized pores in brittle rock (it is called
“unconventional” because of the way the gas is trapped)
• Needs to be fractured to release
• Scientists have known about this for decades

4. 4
Shale gas is normal natural gas that never escaped
“Conventional” vs “Unconventional” traps for gas & oil

5. 5
What is exploration, today?
(Welcome back for Ben Saunders and Tarka
L’Herpiniere, on their completion of Scott’s
iconic 1,795 mile Terra Nova route from the
very coast of Antarctica to the South Pole and
back.)
http://scottexpedition.com/about

6. 6
Another view of exploration – a 300 million year
journey
(Preese Hall-1: UK’s Shale Gas Discovery Well)

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What made exploration possible?
• Horizontal drilling (contact more of the formation)
• Hydraulic fracturing (create pathways for trapped gas)
• 3D seismic surveys, monitoring (to map the subsurface)

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Hydraulic fracturing is not new

9. 9
Horizontal drilling,
hydraulic fracturing
(NOT to scale!)
Shale gas = methane gas = natural gas

10. 10
This is not “fracking”
Drilling is first….

11. 11
Water Tanks Frac Pumps
Sand Silos Data VanFlowback
Tanks
Separator
Service Rig
Then fracturing….

12. 12
After drilling and fracturing the equipment is removed
(Artist’s impression, production pad 2013)
342250 342300 342350 342400 342450
436900
436950
437000
437050
CuadrillaResources
Project:Bowland
Location:Lancashire
ElswickProductionFacility
Elswick(2011)
BingMaps
0 30m6 12 18 24
Scale=1:600
X/Y:
Meters
N
Elswick facility
For the next 25 years the
site looks like this

13. 13
Why are we exploring now, and why here?
• The UK’s North Sea gas is declining
• Technology exists to recover gas onshore in the UK
• The price of gas is higher (the economics work)
• There is a lot of gas underneath us

14. 14
UK North Sea is declining
UK spending £8B on imports, rising to £16B by 2029
(Source: Department of Energy and Climate Change)
Our growing gas import gap

15. 15
Unconventional oil and gas – a global resource
2© 2013 HALLIBURTON. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Tight Gas
Shale Gas
Coalbed Methane
1

16. 16
Lancashire has a “North Sea” of gas
BGS:
"The lower limit of the range is 822 tcf and the
upper limit is 2,281 tcf, but the central
estimate for the resource is 1,329 tcf”
• Over 1000m (>3300 ft) thickness of shale
• 1000’s feet below aquifers
• Very close to major gas pipeline
infrastructure
UK annual gas consumption ≈ 3.2 tcf
1
after
rks water etc.
e ownership

17. 17
As of September 2013, three gas wells drilled
• Preese Hall-1 drilled to 9,100 feet
(partially fractured)
• Grange Hill-1 drilled to 10,700 feet
• Becconsall-1 drilled to 10,500 feet
• Acquired detailed 3D subsurface
mapping of 100 KM2 through
seismic survey
• Existing: Elswick-1 producing from
3,500 feet (existing sandstone well,
vertical fracture in 1993)
(For reference, there are over 2,000 onshore wells in the UK, 200 of
which have been fractured)

18. 18
This is what it’s about

19. 19
The challenges
(4th Media 2012)

20. 20
Environmental sustainability
Issues of concern
– Water
• Aquifer contamination
• Water use
• Flowback water disposal
– Seismicity
– Landscape and community impact
– Emissions – local health impact, greenhouse gas
– Impact on renewables investment

21. 21
What residents are concerned about
0 20 40 60 80 100
Damage to environment
Truck movements, noise
Health risks
Contamination of drinking water
Dangerous chemicals
Use of fossil fuels
Women
Men
(Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Fracking survey, 2014)
% citing concern

22. 22
Aquifer contamination – the perception
A question of scale
(4th Media 2012)

23. 23
The reality
4KM (2.5 mi)
8” wellbore (Credit: Ground Gas Solutions 2012)

24. 24
Well integrity
Good well design: triple barrier through aquifer
(Cuadrilla 2012)

25. 25
Fracking water make-up

26. 26
Hydraulic fracturing -- water makeup and
management
• What goes in – 99.5% water, about .5% sand, 0.05% friction
reducer, and a handful of tracer salt
• Mains water from United Utilities (already has a biocide)
• Sand
• Polyacrylamide (classified as non hazardous by the EA) , to reduce
friction and improve the suspension of sand in the water
• What comes out – flowback water
– Very salty water from the formation
– Various minerals from the rock, metals (very dilute solution)
– NORM (naturally occurring radiation)
• Flow-back waters are classified as non-hazardous by the
Environment Agency are captured, processed in an
industrial facility

27. 27
Truck traffic
• Assuming all the truck
movements take place
in the five years of
drilling, truck
movements would
average 6.1-17.1 per
day
• Piping water in saves
truck journey
• Re-cycling water will
save truck journeys
49
States, local governments, and industry can work together in the
development to minimize long term effects and to address citizen
congestion, damage to roads, dust, and noise 241.The process of sh
drilling and hydraulic fracturing, can create short-term increases
These nuisance impacts are usually limited to the initial 20- to 30
pe
tr
su
pa
w
th
de
au
to
un
ad
an
re
W
us
m
he
Barnett Shale play around the Dallas-Fort Worth International Ai
permanent pipelines to transfer produced water from well sites t
Source: Parker County Commissioner’s Office
Tanker Trucks in Parker County, Texas
(IoD 2012, central scenario, 10 well pad)

28. 28
Seismic risks

29. 29
Seismic risks
Injection can lubricate faults, cause small tremors
– Cuadrilla’s two events: 1 April 2.3 ML and 27 May 2011 1.5 ML
Subsequently we have
1.Conducted 3D survey (better a-priori knowledge of
faults)
2.Planned to hydrofracture in smaller stages
3.Placed seismometers and tiltmeters in arrays around
sites (real-time data)
4.Agreed a “traffic light” mitigation system, at 0.5ML
threshold

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3D imaging – software exploration
(not to mention micro-seismic imaging)

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Fractures and contamination
Is fracture length a cause for concern?
– Maximum fracture length circa 588m/1919 ft
– The top of the Bowland shale is at a depth of circa 6000 feet
(Warpinsky et al, 2011)
Aquifer depth
Fracture depth

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Have you ever washed a car?
You are closer to the aquifer than any fracture.

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Pollution Perception

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Impact of pollutants
1. Cuadrilla installs an air quality monitoring package at every
site
– Methane
– Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes
– We publish all data to EA, and in summarized form to local
stakeholders
2. Flaring is regulated in the UK, and is minimized
– Flaring has been a site practice for 100 years and has not been a
health risk for workers in proximity, much less communities
3. Returned water/ gas separation is in closed-cycle system

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Would you want to live next to this?
• Operates 24 hours
• Trucks and heavy equipment
• Noise
• Emits odours
• Emits methane

36. 36
Would you want to live next to this?
• Operates 24 hours
• Trucks and heavy equipment
• Noise
• Emits odours
• Emits methane

37. 37
Footprint is small
(Using Hinkley C as a reference)
Equivalent
energy
production
from natural
gas would
require less
than 170
acres
(30 pads)
DECC footnote: “The footprint will depend on the location and
turbine technology deployed. DECC estimates the footprint could
be between 160,000 and 490,000 acres”

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Checking it’s Safe – thorough regulation
Regulators are:
• Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC),
• The Environment Agency (EA)
• The Health and Safety Executive (HSE)
• Also County Councils
• The EA and HSE continually monitor operations
– March - August 2011: EA visited the Preese Hall site 10 times (7
unannounced visits)

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Through Environmental Impact Assessment

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Climate change

41. 41
GHG emissions intensity for various sources of gas
Shale gas Conventional Gas Non-EU Piped Gas LNG GAS(UK current blend)
EstimatedEmissionsIntensity(gCO2e/kWh)
(Potential Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with
Shale gas Production and Use- DECC 2013)
(with green
completions)

42. 42
Shale gas generates controversy

43. 43
Operators engage with communities
• Statutory consultation and non-
statutory informational events
(16 events, past 24 months)
• Site visits, rig tours
• Speaking to groups, large and small
• Letters, newsletters, answering
questions, information line
• Events, sponsorships
• Projects – academia, 3rd parties
• Recommending engagement strategies for regulators

44. 44
Community benefits announcement –
transformational potential
• Communities receive £100,000 for every
exploration well that is hydraulically fractured
• Communities receive one per cent of
revenues from future shale gas production
– Potentially, more than £1 billion over a 20 to 30 year shale gas
production timescale could be returned to Lancashire communities
within the Bowland Basin license area alone

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What a successful shale gas industry has to offer
• Meaningful unsubsidized private investment
– (Bowland alone potential for £50B through 2040)
• Meaningful job creation
• Meaningful energy security contribution (up to 1tcf per
annum)
• Highest regulatory standards (environmental, health, safety)
• Small industrial surface footprint -- 100 sites occupy just 2
km2
• Opportunity for “Aberdeen effect”
– Careers, jobs, universities, research,
– Economic prosperity
(Source: IoD calculations)

46. 46
Perspective on energy

47. 47
Two words begin with “e” and end with “y”
We confuse them all the time

48. 48
What percentage of all energy we use is renewable?
• 30%?
• 20%
• 10%?

49. 49
What percentage of all energy we use is renewable?
• 30%?
• 20%
• 10%?
<5%
(DECC: 012 data)

50. 50
We still depend on fossil fuels
Hydrocarbons =
87%
Non-nuclear
renewables <
5%

51. 51
Future mix for UK energy is gas, nuclear and
renewables – but coal is still a factor in electricity
(DECC: GHG Emissions 2012, issued March 2013)

52. 52
Gas is much more than “keeping the lights on”
55% of gas goes to heat and industry
• 36% gas goes to heat
• 36% of gas goes to
electricity and associated
uses
• 19% to industry and other
customers
Use of Gas
Heat
Electricity
Industry
Other
(Source: Department of Energy and Climate Change)

53. 53
The gas in this area alone could make a material
difference
(Source: IoD calculations)
Potential Bowland contribution

54. 54
Gas is essential if we are serious about
reducing CO2 emissions

55. 55
In terms of global CO2 emissions, coal and oil are
significantly higher contributors
Land use
Coal
Oil
Gas
Other
Other: Emissions from cement production and gas flaring.
(Global Carbon Project 2013)

56. 56
What can we learn, going forward?
• Shale gas industry brings together sciences and arts
– Geology
– Physics
– Chemistry
– Biology
– ICT (sector is a heavy user)
• Energy is the lifeblood of all societies
• Sociology
• Psychology
• Economics
• Politics
• Even history

57. 57
The UK is leading in new energy
Besides being a leader in oil & gas…
• A leader in wind
• Innovator in tidal (Tidal Lagoons, 13 tidal streaming
projects)
• Innovator in Carbon Capture and Storage (£1B competition,
two leadership projects)
• We have to lead – we are an island nation

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Join the energy quest!

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Thank you