Optimal Siting of Shale Gas and Oil Development

An RFF/Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment/Stanford Natural Gas Initiative Webinar

This was the third event in a joint RFF/Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment/Stanford Natural Gas Initiative webinar series on New Research on the Science and Economics of Natural Gas.

The siting of shale gas and oil development—everything from well pads to pipelines—is based on a complex network of factors, including resource availability, lease ownership, environmental concerns, local zoning, and community preference. Experts at Stanford University and Resources for the Future are considering ways in which these various factors come into play in siting decisions, including what “optimal siting” might look like in a variety of contexts.

Stanford’s Anthony Kovscek opened the webinar by looking at optimal siting of shale development from a technical perspective, considering the geologic characteristics of formations that drive companies’ drilling decisions. RFF’s Juha Siikamäki then presented a new model considering optimal siting of shale gas and oil infrastructure from the perspective of minimizing habitat fragmentation and other landscape-level impacts. Finally, Tisha Schuller from the Stanford Natural Gas Initiative discussed optimal siting of shale gas and oil infrastructure from the perspective of community and industry interactions.