Future Directions towards Environmental Stewardship over the Unconventional Energy Lifecycle

Fullbright Specialist Dr AubreyLevine will discussrelationships between unconventional energy development andenvironmental stewardship from a lifecycle perspective at the Hatfield campus of the University of Pretoria on 30 July 2015. The presentation will focus on watermanagement and groundwater protection. The importance of developing robust baseline dataprior to unconventional energy development will be illustrated using a US example whereintensive drilling activities and the co?location of private wells has confounded the ability todiscern potential impacts due to drilling,  > well completion, hydraulic fracturing, watermanagement, or well operation. Some of the challenges associated with deriving forensic baselinebiogeochemical data from different types of wells will be discussed and preliminary data onchemical fingerprinting to differentiate sources of waterborne contaminants will be presented.Opportunities to leverage ongoing international unconventional energy activities towardsdeveloping best practices will be discussed and an overview of research needs related toenvironmental stewardship will be presented. Formore information click HERE