UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Research involved in determining possible underground storage potential for natural gas liquids from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations will be the topic of a web-based seminar offered by Penn State Extension.
The webinar, presented from 1 to 2:15 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 18, will feature Douglas Patchen, director of the Resource Extraction Division of the National Research Center for Coal and Energy at West Virginia University, and Brian Anderson, director of the West Virginia Energy Institute.
For the petrochemical industry to grow in the Appalachian Basin, it is important for the natural gas liquids found in the shale in the Utica and Marcellus regions in eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia to be available for use, according to Patchen. Creating a strong infrastructure, including natural gas liquids storage and pipeline infrastructure, is essential.
To meet the needs of natural gas liquids storage, the industry must determine the potential of adequate subsurface storage in the region, Patchen noted. This webinar will cover the research involved in determining possible underground storage, as well as the economic and business potential of creating a storage hub in the Appalachian region.
"The Appalachian Oil and Gas Research Consortium was tasked with conducting this study within a 12-month period," Patchen said. "The study revealed that we have adequate storage potential for natural gas liquids in three types of storage 'containers' — solution cavities in the Salina F4 salt, mined cavities in the Greenbrier Limestone, and depleted gas reservoirs in older producing fields and gas-storage fields."
The area is fortunate to have not one, but two shale plays from which significant amounts of natural gas liquids can be produced, Anderson pointed out. "The challenge, however, is to develop a transportation and storage infrastructure that is sufficient to retain some of the natural gas liquids in this area to support a revitalized petrochemical industry," he said.
The webinar is free, but registration is necessary. To register, visit the Penn State Extension Natural Gas Events webpage. More information is available by contacting Carol Loveland at 570-320-4429 or at cal24@psu.edu.
Penn State Extension's Marcellus Education Team provides monthly webinars on a variety of topics. Upcoming webinars include the following:
-- Feb. 15: "The Value of Strong Stakeholder Engagement," presented by Thomas Murphy, co-director, Penn State Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research.
-- March 15: "Research on Natural Gas Foam as a Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid," presented by Griffin Beck, research engineer, Propulsion and Energy Machinery, Southwest Research Institute.
-- April 19: "Hydraulic Fracturing Test Sites: Field Test Site in the Permian Basin Dedicated to Environmental Safety and Stimulation Efficiency Research," presented by Jordan Ciezobka, senior engineer, Gas Technology Institute, and Gary Covatch, petroleum engineer, U.S. Department of Energy, National Energy Technology Laboratory.
Previous webinars, publications and information also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website, covering a variety of topics such as liquid natural gas; seismic testing; methane emissions; water use and quality; Marcellus and Utica basins; natural gas reserves; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; legal issues surrounding gas development; and the impact of Marcellus gas development on forestland.