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Permalink Reply by Finnbear on July 6, 2011 at 5:34am

Compressor stations are required when the gas pressure at the wellhead is less than the pressure in the pipeline taking the gas away from the well. A compressor is installed between the well(s) and pipeline to boost the pressure above that of the pipeline so the gas can be extracted from the well and sold.

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Permalink Reply by 0jw0dsu4txfuv on July 6, 2011 at 10:16am

Generally Compressor Stations take gas from mutliple wells and sometimes are needed to enter gas into the transmission as the pressure is > 900 psi. But the Stations may serve other purposes as well.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Litwinowicz on July 6, 2011 at 2:48pm

They also build treatment stations that will dehydrate the gas, separate different fractions and who knows what.  These can be larger and more complex than just a compressor station.

 

I heard at one meeting that they will build one of these stations for every 25 to 30 wells but I am sure that depends a lot on how wet the gas is, is there any oil in it, the total production numbers, and a number of other factors.

 

Hunter 777; depends on the lease.  if one signed a standard lease from the company it usually gives them access to "do whatever is necessary to market the gas" which means they can do what they want. I would hope that most companies would make an offer instead of using a loophole.  Plus, these are often operated by the mid-stream companies so they may have to negotiate with the landowner.

 

Of course, they may just sub-lease from the leaseholder so be careful.

 

I have no idea what kind of monies are involved.

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Permalink Reply by Gunner Ostergard on November 30, 2012 at 10:06am

Can the water removed from an older shallow well be spilled on the ground or are there regulations against this?

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Permalink Reply by Jack Straw on November 30, 2012 at 10:50am

Not all water is equal.

At some depth, fresh water is no longer present.

Near surface, you have a situation in which meteoric water (rain, melted snow) can percolate down into the earth and into shallow rocks. This “fresh” water has traveled through these shallow rocks, flushing out any connate water. (Connate water is the water that was trapped in the pores of a rock during formation of the rock. Connate water can change in composition throughout the history of the rock: as time, temperature and pressures at depth influence the chemistry. Connate water can be dense and saline compared with seawater; connate water can contain concentrations of dissolved minerals.)

Gas and oil wells would typically be far below where fresh water would be expected to be present. In producing oil and/or natural gas, some of the connate and formation water is produced. (Formation water is simply water found in the pore spaces of a rock, and might not have been present when the rock was formed.). This water is not considered potable and can contain (in addition to salt and other minerals) some hydrocarbons.  

RE: “Can the water removed from an older shallow well be spilled on the ground or are there regulations against this?”

Water from oil and/or gas wells should not be spilled on the ground … and there are regulations that forbid this.

There was a time in the past when this waste water was indeed spilled on the ground or sprayed into the air when gas wells were “blown off”. Due to increased awareness and regulation (around 40 years ago in PA) large tanks began to appear around gas well locations; and any produced water was required to be sequestered in these tanks. This water is then periodically collected and disposed of – much as frac return water is handled today.

 

All IMHO,

                 JS

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Permalink Reply by Gunner Ostergard on November 30, 2012 at 12:53pm

Wow,  apparantly I asked the right person.  Do you happen to know of the correct procedure to report an incident of water from a gas well being spilled on the ground in Pa?

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Permalink Reply by Oliver Perry on November 30, 2012 at 1:06pm

Report to the PA DEP here:

http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/report_an_...

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