New Discovery Casts Doubt on Gas Well Methane Migration Claims

A group of international scientists has discovered a fourth type of natural gas. Wait, there are different "types" of natgas? Yes, at least different types of origins for natural gas. To date, three main sources of natural gas had been identified--microbial, thermogenic, and abiotic. Scientists have discovered a fourth type or origin for natural gas--natgas generated by radiolysis, which is the dissociation of molecules by ionizing radiation of the organic matter in shale rock. Yeah, it's science and it's complicated. Let us bottom line this for you right here: The presence of natural gas with a "thermogenic" signature (i.e. fingerprint), which indicates gas coming from a drilled shale well, has been blamed for contaminating water supplies in places like Dimock, PA. It's quite possible thermogenic gas has been misidentified as radiolysis gas, and that leaky wells are not the cause of gas in water.

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