ROLE OF MARCELLUS SHALE ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT LABORATORY IN ENVIRONMENTALLY PRUDENT DEVELOPMENT OF SHALE GAS

Marcellus Shale Energy and Environment Laboratory (MSEEL) is located in the heart of the dry-gas area of the Marcellus Shale play in Monongalia County, West Virginia. MSEEL site was developed by West Virginia University, Northeast Natural Energy and the US Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory in cooperation with numerous research organizations. The objective of MSEEL is to provide a long-term collaborative field site to develop and validate new knowledge and technology to improve recovery efficiency and minimize environmental implications of unconventional resource development

MSEEL plans included developing a geologic and engineering baseline using the two previous wells at the site, drilling a vertical scientific observation well that was sampled and instrumented to provide detailed subsurface information, and to monitor two horizontal production wells drilled at the test site. The observation well drilled in-between two horizontal laterals was used to collect detailed subsurface data, and to monitor and test new hydraulic fracturing technologies in production wells. Complete vertical core and 50 sidewall cores were obtained from well 3H. In addition, 150 sidewall cores were also collected from the scientific observation well. The cores were preserved on the site per the required protocols and available to all investigators for a wide variety of microbiological/geochemical/mineralogical/sedimentological analysis, macro, and micro scanning and conducting high-pressure temperature experiments. A diverse team of geochemists, health professionals and social scientists are conducting water/air quality and noise monitoring at this site over the five-year period. In addition, researchers have access to produced water and gas samples from the hydraulically fractured horizontal production well before they get disposed in holding tanks or pumped to production/distribution lines. This long-term MSEEL site will contribute substantially to improved extraction and management of subsurface energy resources, and also increase the scientific understanding of the environmental and social impacts of shale development. In addition, MSEEL is designed to be a flexible platform for other research efforts and collaboration beyond currently proposed.