This presentation was made by Hydrogeologist Gilles Wendling at Keepers of the Water VI in Fort Nelson, BC. This event was hosted by Fort Nelson First Nation.

1. UNCONVENTIONAL GAS AND
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
Photo: Gilles Wendling

2. WHAT IS HYDRAULIC
FRACTURING (FRACKING)?

3. Unconventional Conventional Drilling
Drilling
Illustration: DPS Penn

4. Source: USGS

6. Frac-Water: From Cradle to Grave
Stream water Surface storage at
Water tanker trucks
gas-well site
Add:
sand, biocides,
scale inhibitors,
acids, surfactants
Flowback treatment
“flowback”
water
brine (metals)
Deep-well
Injection
(Modified from Jim Saiers (Yale), Resources for the Future conference on Managing the Risks of Shale Gas, Nov 2011)

7. WHY DO WE HAVE SHALE GAS?

8. 500 million years in 5 seconds
Source: Wendy Carter for Dr Anthony Kemp (University of Western Australia - A Centre for Exploration Targeting, School of Earth and Environment), June 2012

9. 400 Million years ago
You are here
Source: Ron Blakey, Northern Arizona University

10. High Productivity of
Phytoplankton (Algae) and Zooplankton Low input of siliciclastic mud
(Radiolaria and Foraminifera)
during Transgression
and early Highstand
Greater than 200 metres Nutrient-rich
Water
Upwelling
Water Depth
Pre-Existing
Argillaceous Mudstone Bank
(Lowstand Fill)
or
Carbonate Bank
(Early Highstand Growth)
Source: Presentation given by Ken Potma at the 6th BC Unconventional Gas Technical Forum
http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/OG/oilandgas/petroleumgeology/UnconventionalGas/Pages/default.aspx

11. (Source: l’ABC du gaz de schistes au Canada, Office national de l’énergie, 2009)

12. BEDROCK IS FRACTURED

13. Net uplift between Late Jurassic (150 Ma) and present
time (after Thompson, 1981) Regional tectonic map (after Price, 1986)
source: http://www.ags.gov.ab.ca/publications/wcsb_atlas/a_ch02/ch_02_f.html

14. 100,000 years ago
5 glaciations in last
500,000 years
Photo: Dr. Gilles Wendling

15. AS A RESULT.....
BEDROCK IS FRACTURED!!!

16. WHERE ARE THE PLAYS... AND
WHERE IS GROUNDWATER?

17. Study Areas of OGC
and Geoscience BC
Montney Water Project
Ft St John
ace River
Pe
Hudson’s Hope
Dawson Creek
Source: Geoscience BC
Montney Water Project

18. Ft Nelson
Ft St John
Hudson’s Hope Dawson Creek

19. Geological X-section (DD’)
Source: Geoscience BC
Montney Water Project

20. D
D’

22. gas-bearing plays
water-bearing plays
gas and water-bearing plays
m-asl
1000
0
0
1000
0
-1000
-1000 0
0 Peace River (g+w)
Bluesky (g+w) Spirit River (g+w)
Cadomin (g+w) Gething (g+w) -1000
-2000 Nikanassin (g+w)
-2000 -1000
-1000 Baldonnel (w)
Doig (g) Halfway (g+w)
-2000
? Montney (g)
-2000
-2000
0 km 5 km 10 km 15 km 20 km

23. HOW IS GROUNDWATER MOVING?

24. Piezometric levels
Deep Well
Poor quality seal or
Good seal
absence of seal
Spring
Aquifer 1
Wetland
Aquifer 2
River
Aquifer 3 Groundwater flow
Target Zone
Not to scale

25. aquitard
aquifer 1
aquitard
aquifer 2
aquitard
aquifer 3

26. water table of aquifer 3
water table of aqu
ifer 1
aquifer 1
aquitard
aquifer 2
aquitard
aquifer 3

27. WHERE IS GROUNDWATER IN
THE PLAYS?

28. formation pressure m hydraulic head
gas-bearing plays
193 m-agl highest recorded
water-bearing plays
lowest recorded
gas and water-bearing plays 65 MPa
6500 m (w)
Halfway (g+w)
190 m-agl
m-asl
Baldonnel (w) Cadotte (g+w)
1000
490 m-bgl
Head in Half
way
0 Head in Bald
0
1000 onnel
Head in Cado
0 tte
-1000
-1000 0
0
-1000
-2000
-2000 -1000
-1000
Baldonnel (w)
Doig (g) Halfway (g+w) -2000
?
Montney (g)
-2000
-2000
0 km 5 km 10 km 15 km 20 km

29. Hydraulic Head in Nikanassin
Nikanassin:
~ 200 m thick
~ 1 km deep
LNG source
420
Ft St John
620
800 750 440
660 640
680 400
1000 950 900 850 700
680
540
780
680 460
480
520
1420
740
500
Hudson’s Hope
700
940
700
(modified from source: Geoscience BC
Montney Water Project)

30. Artesian Conditions - Nikanassin Formation

31. SO, WHAT ARE THE RISKS ?

32. Sump Source Water
Well
Well Shaft
Well Head and Activity
Abandoned Active
Cancelled Gas Testing
Completed Suspended
Cased Well Authority
Granted
2k
m

33. gas-bearing plays
Active Abandoned
water-bearing plays
Completed Suspended
gas and water-bearing plays Cased Source Water
Well - depths
Projection of unknown
well near the
cross-section
m-asl
1000
0
0
1000
0
-1000
-1000 0
0
-1000
-2000
-2000 -1000
-1000
-2000
-3000
-3000 -2000
-2000
-3000
-4000
-4000 -3000
-3000
0 km 5 km 10 km 15 km 20 km

34. In 5 or 10 years...
m-asl
1000
0
0
1000
0
-1000
-1000 0
0
-1000
-2000
-2000 -1000
-1000
-2000
-3000
-3000 -2000
-2000
-3000
-4000
-4000 -3000
-3000
0 km 5 km 10 km 15 km (Note: location of future O&G wells is20 km
for illustration purposes)

36. 2030... 2050
Cadotte (g+w)
500 m-bgl

37. Low river level
Aquifers provide flow and temperature control!

38. In 20, 30, ... , 50 years
Montney

39. ARE THE RISKS.... REAL?

40. Geochemical evidence for possible natural
migration of Marcellus Formation brine to
shallow aquifers in Pennsylvania
Nathaniel R. Warnera, Robert B. Jacksona,b, Thomas H.
Darraha, Stephen G. Osbornc, Adrian Downb, Kaiguang
Zhaob, Alissa Whitea, and Avner Vengosha,1
Duke University, Durham, NC
California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) - July 2012 - Edited by Karl K.
Turekian, Yale University, North Haven, CT, and approved May 10, 2012 (received for review
January 5, 2012)

41. 426 shallow groundwater samples and 83 northern Appalachian brine samples
The average depth of drinking water wells in the study area is between 60 and 90 m
(Source: Warnera et al.)

42. (bromine)
Dilution and mixing
with meteoric fresh
water
(including Marcellus)
Fig. 3. Bromide vs. chloride concentrations
groundwater in NE PA and Appalachian brines fr
(18, 19). The linear relationship (type D: r 2 ¼ 0.99
A–C: r 2 ¼ 0.14) between the conservative eleme
that the majority of the higher salinity samples
dilution of Appalachian brines that originated
Even with a large dilution of the original brine,
of type-D waters are still discernable in shallow gr
salinity (Cl > 20 mg∕L) groundwater with low B
water likely originated from shallow sources suc
deicing. Seawater evaporation line is from (25).
tinguishable (Table S3) concentrations o
ions (Fig. 4 A and B); however, bromide c
available in the historical data set. Non
(Source: Warnera et al.)

43. THE POSITION OF THE INDUSTRY

44. Shallow Aquifers
“ Don’t worry ....
Everything is under control”
Gas Plays

45. Source: OGC Fact Sheet - Hydraulic Fracturing and Disposal of Fluids - Sept 2011

46. OGC’ S APPROACH FOR
WATER DEMAND

47. 15
Annual Runoff (m3):
Variable:
• Beatton – 1.3 billion m3
• Halfway – 2.6 billion m3
• Sikanni – 1.8 billion m3
• Kiskatinaw – 378 MM m3
• Pine – 5.9 billion m3
Total Annual Runoff
for Montney Trend
= 16.6 billion m3
(Source: Presentation given by Allan Chapman at the 6th BC Unconventional Gas Technical Forum
http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/OG/oilandgas/petroleumgeology/UnconventionalGas/Pages/default.aspx)

48. Calibration to WSC Gauges
8
Calibrated to about 45
Water Survey of
Canada streamflow Horn River Basin well pad
gauges
Synthetic hydrographs
have very good fit
with measured data.
----------- observed flow
----------- modelled flow
Source: Presentation given by Allan Chapman at the 6th BC
Unconventional Gas Technical Forum http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/OG/
oilandgas/petroleumgeology/UnconventionalGas/Pages/default.aspx

49. Summary
18
Average Annual Runoff in Montney = 16.6 Billion m3
• Projected Maximum Future Water Requirement for
Hydraulic Fracturing in Montney Play is 3
per year
• Of this,
sources (rivers, lakes, dugouts) 9 million m3
• This is 0.06 percent of average annual runoff
• There is abundant water, but it needs careful
management
(Source: Presentation given by Allan Chapman at the 6th BC Unconventional Gas Technical Forum
http://www.empr.gov.bc.ca/OG/oilandgas/petroleumgeology/UnconventionalGas/Pages/default.aspx)

50. X

52. DISPOSAL WELLS

53. Disposal Injection Well
Major Fault Line
W
Z
Y Ft St John
Y’ Z’
Hudson’s Hope
W’

54. Peace River Moberly River
W’
W Hudson’s Hope
Bennet Dam

55. gas-bearing plays
W-W’
water-bearing plays Beryl Prairie public water supply
gas and water-bearing plays Peace River Moberly River
16077
Hudson’s Hope Gas Ltd.
Disposal Well - Suspended
W’
22031
Water to Bluesky
W at Depth 860 m
Hudson’s Hope Gas Ltd.
Disposal Well - Suspended
Ground Elev 693 m asl Water to Baldonnel
1000 at Depth 1610 m
Ground Elev 691 m asl
Approximate
Paleovalley (?) (?)
Peace River (g+w)
Harmon (g+w) 0
Spirit River (g+w) m asl
0
Bluesky (g+w)
0 m asl
m asl 0 Lower Cretaceous (g)
m asl
Gething (g+w)
Nikanassin (g+w)
-1000
-1000
-1000 Baldonnel (w)
-1000
Halfway (g+w)
-2000
Doig (g)
Note: depths and thicknesses of
Montney (g)
-2000 formations are approximate, extrapolated
from the GeoScience BC Report 2011-11 -2000
Stoddart (g)
0 25 50 75 km

56. Fort St John Z’
Pine River
Z
Peace River
Moberly River

57. gas-bearing plays
Z-Z’
~ 256 OSP of liquid waste disposed off
water-bearing plays
(181: 111 OSP and 3010: 145 OSP)
00181
gas and water-bearing plays Penn West Petroleum Ltd.
Disposal Well -
03010 Suspended (2004) Z’
Orefyn Energy Advisors Corp. Water to Halfway
Disposal Well - Active at Depth 1495 m
Water to Halfway
at Depth 1510 m
Ground Elev 670 m asl Pine River
Ground Elev 683 m asl 500
500
Z
Peace River
500 Moberly River 500
0
m asl
drilled in 1956!! 500 Approximate Paleovalley (?)
Peace River (g+w)
Harmon (g+w)
0
m asl
Spirit River (g+w)
0
m asl drilled in 1971 0
m asl
Lower Cretaceous (g)
Gething (g+w)
-500 -500
0 Cadomin (g+w)
m asl Nikanassin (g+w)
-500 -500 Baldonnel (w)
-1000 -500 -1000
Halfway (g+w)
-1000 -1000 Doig (g)
Montney (g)
-1500 -1000 -1500
(?)
Note: depths and thicknesses of
formations are approximate, extrapolated
0 from the GeoScience BC Report 2011-11 10 20 -1500 30 km

58. FINAL COMMENTS

59. EFFECTS COULD TAKE TIME TO BE
OBSERVED: YEARS, DECADES

60. CUMULATIVE EFFECT

61. NE BC
over 31 000 O&G Wells
(source: National Energy Board)
map with all wells
Text
Fort
St
John
Dawson
Creek

62. O&G WELLS IN WESTERN CANADA
Over 0.5 million wells!!!
385 000 in Alberta
113 000 in Saskatchewan
31 000 in BC
8 000 in Manitoba

63. VERY SENSITIVE ENVIRONMENT

64. Peace River
Near Tumbler Ridge

65. dry river - dry bridge

66. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Photo: Gilles Wendling

67. Photo: Gilles Wendling
THANK YOU
GW SOLUTIONS, DR. GILLES WENDLING, FT NELSON, BC, SEPTEMBER 2012