干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): The water footprint of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction in China

Arid

DOI	10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168135
	The water footprint of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction in China
	Gao, Jinliang; Zou, Caineng; Zhang, Xiaowei; Guo, Wei; Yu, Rongze; Ni, Yunyan; Liu, Dan; Kang, Lixia; Liu, Yuyang; Kondash, Andrew; Vengosh, Avner
通讯作者	Zou, CE
来源期刊	SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT
ISSN	0048-9697
EISSN	1879-1026
出版年	2024
卷号	907
英文摘要	The rapid expansion of shale gas extraction worldwide has raised significant concerns about its impact on water resources. China is expected to undergo a shale revolution following the U.S. Most of the information on water footprint of shale gas exploration and hydraulic fracturing has been focused on the U.S. Here, we addressed this knowledge gap by establishing a comprehensive database of shale gas extraction in China, utilizing operational data from over 90 % of shale gas wells across the country. We present systematic analysis of water usage and flowback and produced water (FP water) production from all the major shale gas fields in China. Between 2012 and 2022, a total of 2740 shale gas wells were hydraulically fractured in China, primarily located in Sichuan and Chongqing Province. About 113 million m(3) water was used for hydraulic fracturing, resulting in a cumulative shale gas production of 116 billion m(3). As of 2022, the annual water use for hydraulic fracturing exceeded 20 million m(3), and the annual FP water production reached 8.56 million m(3). Notably, 80 % similar to 90 % of the FP water has been reused for hydraulic fracturing since 2020, accounting for 29 % to 35 % of the annual water usage for hydraulic fracturing. Water use per well in China varies primarily between 21,730 m(3) to 61,070 m(3) per well, and water use per horizontal length ranges primarily between 20 m(3)/m and 35 m(3)/m. The average ultimate FP water production per well in China was estimated to be 22,460 m(3). The water use intensity (WUI) for shale gas extraction in China mainly ranges from 7 to 25.4 L/GJ, which is significantly higher than that of the U.S. This disparity is largely due to the lower Estimated Ultimate Recovery (EUR) of shale gas wells in China. Despite the considerable water consumption during the hydraulic fracturing process, shale gas has a relatively low water footprint compared to other conventional energy resources in China. The Produced water intensity (PWI) for shale gas extraction in China ranges from 3.9 to 7.3 L/GJ, which is consistent with the previously reported PWI values for shale gas extraction in the U.S. This study predicts water usage and FP production spanning the period 2023 to 2050 under two scenarios to assess the potential impact of shale gas extraction on water resources in the Longmaxi shale region in Sichuan Basin. The first scenario assumed a constant drilling rate, while the second assumed a yearly 10 % increase in drilling rate. With an assumed FP water reuse rate of 85 % for hydraulic fracturing, the estimated annual freshwater consumption for the two scenarios is 10.4 million m(3) and 163 million m(3), respectively. This accounts for only 0.28 parts per thousand and 4.4 parts per thousand of the total annual surface water resources in Sichuan and Chongqing Province. Our findings suggest that freshwater usage for hydraulic fracturing in humid Southern China is small relative to available surface water resources. However, prospective large-scale shale gas extraction in other arid and semi-arid regions may enhance the regional water scarcity. It is necessary to develop new hydraulic fracturing technologies that can use saline groundwater or other types of marginal water, and explore alternative management and treatment strategies for FP water.
英文关键词	Hydraulic fracturing Shale gas China Water use Flowback and produced water Water intensity
类型	Article
语种	英语
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:001110069800001
WOS关键词	MARCELLUS SHALE ; SICHUAN BASIN ; UNCONVENTIONAL OIL ; ISOTOPIC EVOLUTION ; APPALACHIAN BASIN ; FLOWBACK WATER ; UNITED-STATES ; PENNSYLVANIA ; WASTEWATERS ; CHALLENGES
WOS类目	Environmental Sciences
WOS研究方向	Environmental Sciences & Ecology
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/405427
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Gao, Jinliang,Zou, Caineng,Zhang, Xiaowei,et al. The water footprint of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction in China[J],2024,907.
APA	Gao, Jinliang.,Zou, Caineng.,Zhang, Xiaowei.,Guo, Wei.,Yu, Rongze.,...&Vengosh, Avner.(2024).The water footprint of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction in China.SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT,907.
MLA	Gao, Jinliang,et al."The water footprint of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas extraction in China".SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 907(2024).