SFU is building a generation of environmentally-conscious petroleum engineers

Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering program teaches care for the environment

Loretto, PA (05/27/2019) — Saint Francis University Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineering majors Annamarie Bolt and Guofang Zheng held an informative talk titled: Technical and Ethical Aspects of Hydraulic Fracturing. Their presentation on this topic resulted from their participation in the Environmental-Petroleum Engineering class taught by Dr. Qin He.

"Electricity is a secondary source of energy, which is currently mainly generated from coal, natural gas and nuclear," said Zheng who thoroughly explained how the energy industry has changed and developed as a result of the shale gas revolution in the United States. He made it clear that the "combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing enabled the significant increase of natural gas production and has made the United States an energy independent country".

In short, Petroleum Engineers drill down to the shale reservoir (which is a very low permeability formation), then fracture the shale using high-pressured drilling fluid (which is 99% water with sand) to generate fracture networks in the formation in order to allow gas to release into the wellbore. Gas is then processed and transported through pipelines before it is used for commercial or residential purposes.

Referring to Zheng's technical information, Bolt presented on several topics of ethical concern associated with the hydraulic fracturing process including wastewater disposal, induced seismicity, methane contamination, groundwater contamination, and freshwater consumption. She discussed what companies have done in order to address those concerns. "There is a stigma that petroleum engineers don't care about the environment," said Bolt, "but as a PNGE student at our university, I can say that we do care." All issues, no matter the scale, affect the entire ecosystem, and our students have chosen to learn how to reduce the negative effects of natural gas production on the environment.

Through their research and this presentation, Bolt and Zheng wanted to show their peers the scope of concerns that they are trying to address as they continue their careers as Petroleum and Natural Gas Engineers. Bolt and Zheng demonstrated a number of ways in which the natural gas industry is minimally responsible for its environmental impact compared to other energy production techniques-which leads many to immediately consider natural gas the safest choice-but Bolt and Zheng are still determined to make it even gentler and cleaner for the environment.

"At Saint Francis University we are looking for solutions with low environmental impact," said Dr. He, "our students are considering energy production with an environmental lens and leading the way into a future that is more safe and sustainable."

Learn more about SFU's engineering programs by visiting: www.francis.edu/Engineering

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