A New Means of Environmental Liability Protection of Ground Water Contamination by Baseline and Ongoing monitoring of Groundwater Contamination
Oral Presentation
Prepared by C. Fator, R. Oswalt, E. Ricco, T. Large
Hanby PetroAnalysis, 1772 W. Sam Houston Parkway N, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 713-468-3898
ABSTRACT
Methods, Procedures, Process:
Through the use of our new small lab in the field that fingerprints hydrocarbons, including crude oils, a baseline of what the groundwater looks like before, during, and after drilling and/or fracking provides for protection from the broad blame of ground water contamination in a particular geographic location. Our Chemical Reaction Spectrophotometry utilizes an extract solvent to isolate the hydrocarbon and uses the aromatics in them to uniquely identify, or fingerprint the hydrocarbon, even from the same formation, uniquely from well to well. Our "Hydrocarbon ID" is a small portable device whereby the analysis takes less than 10 minutes to perform on each sample. The sample type can be that of water and/or production water, soil, drilling fluid or mud, cuttings or cores. For this particular application, we will focus on water for the base lining of the groundwater, before, during and after drilling and continued during production.
Results, Observations, Conclusions:
By testing the groundwater before drilling and fracking and getting a baseline then continuing the testing through the drilling process and during the production process, along with fingerprinting the crude oil being produced, liability protection is obtained. Literally, the same type of crude oil from well to well is able to be differentiated, leaving no room for shared blame in an environmental contamination scenario where fracking has been used at multiple sites by multiple drillers in the same geographic location. The responsible party is identified through this fingerprinting capability, utilizing the aromatics in hydrocarbons including crude oils as the marker compounds for identification. Crude oil is the most complex substance on earth, having been under heat and pressure for millions of years, but has 3-30% of its composition aromatics, which we utilize as the marker compounds to fingerprint it. This technology is in line with DNA analysis, whereby, as the database or library of standards continues to grow and develop, the results will become more accurate and thus more valuable.
Novel/Additive Information:
By fingerprinting the crude and base lining the ground water and continued testing of the ground water, with the results all being time, date and GPS stamped, one has the ability to prove that they did not contribute to the local ground water contamination.
Oral Presentation
Prepared by C. Fator, R. Oswalt, E. Ricco, T. Large
Hanby PetroAnalysis, 1772 W. Sam Houston Parkway N, Houston, TX, 77043, United States
Contact Information: [email protected]; 713-468-3898
ABSTRACT
Methods, Procedures, Process:
Through the use of our new small lab in the field that fingerprints hydrocarbons, including crude oils, a baseline of what the groundwater looks like before, during, and after drilling and/or fracking provides for protection from the broad blame of ground water contamination in a particular geographic location. Our Chemical Reaction Spectrophotometry utilizes an extract solvent to isolate the hydrocarbon and uses the aromatics in them to uniquely identify, or fingerprint the hydrocarbon, even from the same formation, uniquely from well to well. Our "Hydrocarbon ID" is a small portable device whereby the analysis takes less than 10 minutes to perform on each sample. The sample type can be that of water and/or production water, soil, drilling fluid or mud, cuttings or cores. For this particular application, we will focus on water for the base lining of the groundwater, before, during and after drilling and continued during production.
Results, Observations, Conclusions:
By testing the groundwater before drilling and fracking and getting a baseline then continuing the testing through the drilling process and during the production process, along with fingerprinting the crude oil being produced, liability protection is obtained. Literally, the same type of crude oil from well to well is able to be differentiated, leaving no room for shared blame in an environmental contamination scenario where fracking has been used at multiple sites by multiple drillers in the same geographic location. The responsible party is identified through this fingerprinting capability, utilizing the aromatics in hydrocarbons including crude oils as the marker compounds for identification. Crude oil is the most complex substance on earth, having been under heat and pressure for millions of years, but has 3-30% of its composition aromatics, which we utilize as the marker compounds to fingerprint it. This technology is in line with DNA analysis, whereby, as the database or library of standards continues to grow and develop, the results will become more accurate and thus more valuable.
Novel/Additive Information:
By fingerprinting the crude and base lining the ground water and continued testing of the ground water, with the results all being time, date and GPS stamped, one has the ability to prove that they did not contribute to the local ground water contamination.
