Natural Gas Processing from Midstream to Downstream

2 Techno‐Economic Analyses and Policy Implications of Environmental Remediation of Shale Gas Wells in the Barnett Shales

Rasha Hasaneen, Andrew Avalos, Nathan Sibley and Mohammed Shammaa

Dwight Look College of Engineering, Texas A&M University, USA

Chapter Menu

1. 2.1 Introduction
2. 2.2 Shale Gas Operations
3. 2.3 The Barnett Shale
4. 2.4 Environmental Remediation of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Using Natural Gas as a Fuel
5. 2.5 Environmental Remediation of Water and Seismic Impacts
6. 2.6 Theoretical Calculations
7. 2.7 Results and Discussion
8. 2.8 Opportunities for Future Research

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 Framing the Issues: The Energy and Environmental Equation

Global demand for energy as well the global carbon footprint is expected to rise consistently through 2050 (EIA 2017a). United States energy demand/consumption continues to be among the largest in the world, as does its carbon footprint, especially when compared to other global economies (EIA 2017a). The U.S. is expected to remain the largest consumer of energy and emitter of CO₂, after China, through 2050 as shown in Figure 2.1.

Figure 2.1 Projected global energy demand and CO₂ emissions.

While it is true that both the energy and CO₂ intensities (per dollar of GDP) of the United States paint a much better picture (EIA 2017a), the issue still remains that the U.S. will continue to need more energy and emit ...