Economic and Environmental Assessment of Gas Supply Chains Incorporating Shale Gas

Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical programing formulation for synthesizing natural gas supply chains incorporating shale gas. The proposed formulation maximizes the profits and at the same time deals with the minimization of the overall environmental impact. The objective function is aimed at the maximization of the total profit, which accounts for the income obtained by selling shale, conventional, and imported gas at the markets, as well as the costs associated with the production of conventional and imported gas and the shale gas costs considering the hydraulic fracturing (including the working fluid), processing, and transportation processes. The environmental impact has been addressed through the Tool for Reduction and Assessment of Chemicals. An illustrative example is presented to show the capabilities of the proposed methodology. A case study for satisfying the national natural gas demands in Mexico is presented, where the results identify attractive options to satisfy the national natural gas dem...