OFFSHORE WELL
COMPLETION AND
STIMULATION
Using Hydraulic Fracturing and
Other Technologies
PROCEEDINGS OF A WORKSHOP
Linda Casola, Rapporteur
Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development
Board on Earth Sciences and Resources
Water Science and Technology Board
Division on Earth and Life Studies
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
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This activity was supported by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation under grant no. G-2015-14016, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists Foundation, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement under contract no. E15PC00008, the Colorado School of Mines, The Cynthia & George Mitchell Foundation, the Environmental Defense Fund, Flinders University, GE Oil & Gas, The Ohio State University, Schlumberger Limited, Texas A&M University, the U.S. Department of Energy under award no. DE-FE0027898, West Virginia University, and XTO Energy Inc. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-49236-2
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-49236-X
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/25439
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Copyright 2019 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
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Cover image: Shutterstock by Andrey Suslov.
Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Offshore Well Completion and Stimulation: Using Hydraulic Fracturing and Other Technologies: Proceedings of a Workshop. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: https://doi.org/10.17226/25439.
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PLANNING COMMITTEE FOR THE WORKSHOP ON OFFSHORE WELL COMPLETION AND STIMULATION: USING HYDRAULIC FRACTURING AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES*
MELISSA BATUM, Co-Chair, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
JOE LIMA, Co-Chair, Schlumberger Services, Inc., Denver, Colorado
DAVID A. DZOMBAK (NAE), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WENDY J. HARRISON, Colorado School of Mines, Golden
JAN MARES, Resources for the Future, Washington, DC
ELENA S. MELCHERT, Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Washington, DC
KRIS J. NYGAARD, ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company, Spring, Texas
MICHAEL P. PARKER, Parker Environmental Consultants, LLC, Huffman, Texas
SANDRA WIEGAND, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Staff
ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Director
K. JOHN HOLMES, Scholar
MARK HUTCHINS, Senior Program Officer
NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial Associate
YASMIN ROMITTI, Research Associate
ERIC J. EDKIN, Program Coordinator
BRENDAN R. MCGOVERN, Research Assistant/Senior Program Assistant
DIAMOND ABNEY, Consultant
___________________
*Planning Committee and Staff and their affiliations current as of 2017.
BOARD ON EARTH SCIENCES AND RESOURCES
ISABEL P. MONTAÑEZ, Chair, University of California, Davis
ESTELLA A. ATEKWANA, University of Delaware, Newark
BRENDA B. BOWEN, The University of Utah, Salt Lake City
CHRISTOPHER (SCOTT) CAMERON, Geological Consulting, LLC, Houston, Texas
NELIA W. DUNBAR, New Mexico Bureau of Geology & Mineral Resources, Socorro
RODNEY C. EWING (NAE), Stanford University, California
CAROL P. HARDEN, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville
ROBERT L. KLEINBERG (NAE), Institute for Sustainable Energy, Boston University, Massachusetts
THORNE LAY (NAS), University of California, Santa Cruz
ZELMA MAINE-JACKSON, Washington State Department of Ecology, Richland
MICHAEL MANGA (NAS), University of California, Berkeley
MARTIN W. MCCANN, Stanford University, Menlo Park, California
JEFFREY N. RUBIN, Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue, Tigard, Oregon
JAMES A. SLUTZ, National Petroleum Council, Washington, District of Columbia
SHAOWEN WANG, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ELIZABETH J. WILSON, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire
Staff
ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Senior Board Director
ANNE M. LINN, Scholar
DEBORAH GLICKSON, Senior Program Officer
SAMMANTHA L. MAGSINO, Senior Program Officer
NICHOLAS D. ROGERS, Financial Associate
COURTNEY R. DEVANE, Administrative Coordinator
ERIC J. EDKIN, Program Coordinator
CARLY BRODY, Senior Program Assistant
RAYMOND (REMY) CHAPPETTA, Senior Program Assistant
WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD
CATHERINE L. KLING (NAS), Chair, Iowa State University, Ames
NEWSHA K. AJAMI, Stanford University, California
JONATHAN D. ARTHUR, Florida Geological Survey, Tallahassee
FRANCINA DOMINGUEZ, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
DAVID A. DZOMBAK (NAE), Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
WENDY D. GRAHAM, University of Florida, Gainesville
MARK W. LECHEVALLIER, American Water, Voorhees, New Jersey
MARGARET A. PALMER, University of Maryland, College Park
DAVID L. SEDLAK (NAE), University of California, Berkeley
DAVID WEGNER, Washington State Department of Ecology, Richland
P. KAY WHITLOCK, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd., Rosemont, Illinois
Staff
ELIZABETH A. EIDE, Senior Board Director
LAURA EHLERS, Senior Staff Officer
STEPHANIE JOHNSON, Senior Staff Officer
JEANNE AQUILINO, Financial and Administrative Associate
COURTNEY R. DEVANE, Administrative Coordinator
ERIC J. EDKIN, Program Coordinator
BRENDAN R. MCGOVERN, Research Assistant/Senior Program Assistant
CARLY BRODY, Senior Program Assistant
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Acknowledgments
This Proceedings of a Workshop was reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in making each published proceedings as sound as possible and to ensure that it meets the institutional standards for quality, objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the process.
We thank the following individuals for their review of this proceedings:
Elmer “Bud” Danenberger III, Independent Consultant
Samantha Joye, University of Georgia
Michael Parker, Parker Environmental and Consulting, LLC
Azra Tutuncu, Colorado School of Mines
Although the reviewers listed above provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the content of the proceedings nor did they see the final draft before its release. The review of this proceedings was overseen by Christine Ehlig-Economides, University of Houston. She was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this proceedings was carried out in accordance with the standards of the National Academies and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content rests entirely with the rapporteur and the National Academies.
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Contents
Workshop Motivations and Proceedings Overview
3 OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS DEVELOPMENT 101
4 OFFSHORE TECHNOLOGIES IN PRACTICE
5 SAFETY IN THE OFFSHORE ENVIRONMENT
6 ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, AND SOLUTIONS
B Members of the Roundtable on Unconventional Hydrocarbon Development
C Biographies of the Workshop Planning Committee
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