UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The scope and effect of methane gas emissions related to shale gas production will be discussed in a Web-based seminar offered by Penn State Extension's Marcellus Education Team on Dec 11.
The webinar, titled "What We Know and Don't Know about Methane Emissions Associated with Shale Gas Production," will be presented at 1 p.m. by Kenneth Davis, professor of meteorology at Penn State.
Methane emissions from natural gas production have been scrutinized heavily in recent years. Methane is a valuable energy resource but also a potent greenhouse gas. The webinar will look at the overall impact of shale gas extraction on the Earth's climate.
Davis briefly will review the role of greenhouse gases in the Earth's climate system and then discuss the methods used to measure methane emissions from gas production, the current state of knowledge about these emissions, and current research led by Penn State to improve our knowledge of methane emissions from gas-production activities.
Penn State Extension's Marcellus Education Team provides at least monthly webinars on a variety of topics. Upcoming webinars include the following:
-- Jan. 22: "Underground Injection Wells," Karen Johnson, UIC Program Manager, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
-- Feb. 19: "Residual Treatment Water in Gas Shale," Terry Engelder, professor of geosciences, Penn State.
-- March 19: "Natural Gas Liquids: From Wellhead to Fractionation," Dan Brockett, educator on the Penn State Extension Marcellus Education Team.
The webinars are free, but participants must register on the events page of the Penn State Extension Natural Gas website. The site also offers information about future webinars. Registrants must provide an email address to receive the link to the upcoming webinar.
Previous webinars, publications and information also are available on the Penn State Extension natural-gas website, covering a variety of topics, such as natural gas production and waste figures; oil and gas best practices; Act 13 (Pennsylvania's oil and gas law); the volume of gas in shale formations; seismic testing; air pollution from gas development; water use and quality; natural gas liquids; gas-leasing considerations for landowners; gas pipeline trends and right-of-way issues; legal issues surrounding gas development; the impact of Marcellus gas development on forestland; royalty calculations and decline curves; and reclamation of drill cuttings.
For more information, contact Carol Loveland at 570-320-4429 or by email at cal24@psu.edu.