Shale gas in the southern central area of New York State: Part I. How to find and develop shale gas in New York State
The Appalachian Basin contains vast volumes of shale gas, and a significant potion of this is contained in three shales in south-central New York - the Rhinestreet, the Geneseo and the Marcellus. The economics of shale-gas exploration in New York are not very attractive to the large oil and gas companies, which seek a rapid return on their investments. The situation may be quite different for organizations which are more concerned with security of supply and stability of cost; these may include manufacturing companies, colleges, hospitals, state institutions and industrial or agricultural cooperatives. For these, production of even a modest 50 Mcf/day/well, declining slowly over many years, would be appealing if it could be guaranteed. To date three wells have been artificially fractured in the Marcellus shale of New York, and all three appear to be producers. This is only a small sample, and one of the wells is known to have encountered natural fractures. However, it does raise the possbility that (while nothing in exploration can be truly guaranteed) the chances of extracting at least some gas from the Marcellus - using modern fracturing techniques - are good. The chances are improved if geological techniques can identify zones of a suitable degree of natural fracturing in the shale. These techniques are aided by detailed structure maps of the shale units; such a map has been prepared for the Geneseo shale, as part of this project. The present conclusion is that the most likely source of shale gas in south-central New York is the Marcellus formation. Shale-gas wells should be drilled with air. The dry open hole should be logged with gamma-ray, density, temperature and noise logs. The shale should be artificially fractured using a nitrogen stimulation technique. Recommendations are given for each of these steps in the text.
- Research Organization:
- Donohue, Anstey and Morrill, Boston, MA (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC21-79MC12697
- OSTI ID:
- 6104367
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/MC/12697-T1; ON: DE82000913
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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BLACK SHALES
FRACTURING
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COMMINUTION
ENERGY SOURCES
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GEOLOGIC DEPOSITS
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