Preliminary Results of a Dissolved Methane Sampling Campaign in Texas

Many constituents related to oil and gas, such as methane, exist naturally in groundwater. Recent studies of aquifers in the footprint of several gas plays across the U.S. have shown that (1) dissolved thermogenic methane may or may not be present in the shallow subsurface, and (2) shallow thermogenic methane could be natural and is not necessarily a consequence of gas production from a gas play. A team of researchers at the University of Texas at Austin Bureau of Economic Geology is currently conducting a large sampling campaign across the state of Texas to characterize shallow methane in freshwater aquifers overlying shale plays and other tight formations. Some aspects of the study and results will be presented.