Green Completions
 | This article or section may have been copied and pasted from another location, possibly in violation of Wikipedia's copyright policy. (November 2016) |
Overview[edit]
Before a well could start producing any oil and gas, residual material from the drilling process (i.e., drill cuttings, fluids, or sand particles) that’s trapped in the wellbore and the surrounding reservoirs should be cleared out [1]. If not cleared these materials would inhibits the producing flow and/ or damages the reservoirs. The traditional method of clearing these residues is to pump air down the well to lift the solids and fluids out of the well. The solids and liquids collected from this process is then dumped in a pit/ tank, and the gas is either vented or flared. Flaring is more common because venting natural gas or methane (CH4) directly into the open air is usually not permitted (due to regulations) because methane is a greenhouse gas. While flaring greenhouse gas still creates carbon monoxide (CO2), it’s still a better method because CO2 is a less potent greenhouse gas than CH4 [2]. The concept of green completions is essentially to process natural gas without flaring it. Methane can be used commercially as an energy source. By separating methane from the other residue, it could be processed and sold to a processing plant. In green completion, the gas is separated from the other liquids and solids in a heavy-duty separators/ a flowback unit at the surface. The flowback unit would direct separated water to a tank for reuse, solids into a reserve pit, and natural gas to a pipeline to be sold [1].
Advantages[edit]
A major advantage to green completions is that it will reduce emissions greatly. According to the EPA, this could reduce emissions at hydraulically fractured wells by 95% at each well [3]. Although green completions do cost money, according to Goldman Sachs and NRDC with an investment of $8,700 to $33,000 per will that leads to a methane capture rate of 7,000 to 23,000 Mcf/well and a profit of $28,000 to $90,000 per well, meaning the equipment could be paid off in as long as a year and as little as a few months. The EPA says it could be as little as 60 days [4]. This completion type can also help with the public’s image of the industry, since they do not see anything alarming, only tanks.
Disadvantages[edit]
One of the disadvantages in green completions is that the equipment can be expensive, $8,700 to $33,000 according to Goldman Sachs and NRDC [4]. Another problem with this completion type is there must be a pipeline in place to move the gas, even if there is a pipeline in place, if there is back pressure in the line this can cause problems and greatly reduce the effectiveness of the equipment.
Conclusion[edit]
Rapid development of natural gas plays in the US through fracing has resulted in the venting or flaring in natural gas during completion of the well. This has not only resulted in increased emissions, but also a loss of revenue. Green completions offer a solution to remedy both of these issues. The green completion designs eliminate the need for venting or flaring to be used in the completion process. In addition, the natural gas that would have otherwise been lost is now able to be captured and sold. The revenue generated through this method can also offset the cost the additional equipment rented during the process. The process requires for production infrastructure, such as pipelines to already be in place so that the produced gas is able to be sold. Arguably the most important benefit from green completions is the positive environmental impact. No flaring and venting practically eliminate emissions during the completions process in natural gas wells. This not only improves the image of our industry, but also provides sustainable operations for future development of our industry.
References[edit]
- [1] "Flareless Completions," in Earth Works. [Online]. Available: https://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/flareless_completions#.WDoY_LIrKUk. Accessed: Nov. 25, 2016.
- [2] "Flaring vs. Green Completions," in Natural Gas Now. [Online]. Available: http://naturalgasnow.org/hydraulic-fracturing-2/flaring-versus-green-completions/. Accessed: Nov. 25, 2016.
- [3] R. Bunzey, “Natural Gas and Green Completion in a Nut Shell,” Energy In Depth, 26-Nov-2012. [Online]. Available: https://energyindepth.org/marcellus/natural-gas-and-green-completion-in-a-nut-shell/. [Accessed: 20-Nov-2016]
- [4] "EARTHWORKS | Flareless Completions", Earthworksaction.org, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/flareless_completions#.WDXFReYrI2w. [Accessed: 20- Nov- 2016].*
This article "Green Completions" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
