TMS Profile: Meg Walker-Milani
by Ed Becker, Staff Writer/TheMarcellusShale.com
Meg Walker-Milani (Left) Sits Atop a Mountain in California
If, as a child, you are fascinated by rocks and the earth sciences, there are some natural career paths to pursue. For Meg Walker-Milani it was her early interest in science that led her to earn a Masters in Geology at West Virginia University.
Now, Walker-Milani is studying the outcroppings of shale throughout West Virginia that will ultimately form the basis of her forthcoming thesis, “Outcrop Lithostratigraphy and Petrophysics of the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale in West Virginia and Adjacent States”.
However, her studies of the shale formations can also provide natural gas drilling companies with potentially critical clues about the most productive areas in which to drill.
In this interview with TheMarcellusShale (TMS), Walker-Milani talks about her career path that has led her from internships at energy companies, to the wilds of West Virginia. She also shares her opinions on the pros and cons of natural gas drilling in southwestern Pennsylvania.
TMS:
First, Meg, tell us a little bit about your background. Where you grew up, your educational experience, current course of studies.
Meg:
I grew up in Peters Township, south of Pittsburgh PA. I went to West Virginia University for a B.A. in environmental geosciences and then went on to get a Masters in Geology at WVU. I am currently finishing up my master’s Thesis at WVU in sedimentary and petroleum geology.
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TMS:
Talk about your internships at Dominion and EQT. How did they help develop your interest in the work you’re doing now, what kind of experience did they give you in this field?
Meg:
My internship with Dominion was my first internship during my graduate career at WVU. I was into sedimentary geology and I thought that I would interview with some oil and gas companies to get some practical experience in what a sedimentary geologist might do after school. I learned a lot working for Dominion. I went there without ever really seeing a subsurface well log and not knowing much about PA and WV stratigraphy. The internship was a great experience that introduced me to the oil and gas business but also diversified my knowledge as a geologist.
Going into my internship at EQT I had already picked up a thesis topic and it focused on the sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Marcellus Shale. I went into that internship as part of the Marcellus team at EQT.
This internship was different from my first; I came in with some knowledge of how the oil and gas business worked. I was familiar with some of the software and basic tasks that a petroleum geologist had on the day to day. I had a lot more freedom and independence at EQT to develop my own project on the Marcellus. It was very rewarding and I met many great people at both internships. Working at EQT and Dominion made me realize that I liked the business and would possibly pursue a career in oil and gas after graduation.
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TMS:
A recent article said that you have a “passion for rocks”. Tell us how you got that interest in geology?
Were you always interested in this field, or did it evolve after a period of time?
Meg:
As a child, I always liked the outdoors. I like picking up rocks on the beach and in the backyard, and I loved nature so the earth sciences were an obvious choice when I went to college. I also had a geology class my senior year in high school that I enjoyed. My mother also wanted me to go into a science field, something women did not do when she was my age.
My passion for geology did evolve over time. The more I studied the more I became enthralled with rocks and interpretation. I love seeing beautiful natural landscapes and being able (is “about” suppose to be “able”?) to explain what geologic processes created them.
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Meg stands next to an outcropping of shale
TMS:
Go into some detail about your current work with examining the outcropping of shale in West Virginia.
What specific information are you looking for?
Meg:
I studied roughly 15 partial Marcellus shale outcrops. It has been mostly in West Virginia but also a couple in PA and MD. I am studying the Marcellus Shale in detail. Looking at the sedimentology of the formation and putting it into a stratigraphic framework. I used my field notes to identify lithofacies within the Marcellus in my study area and then created stratigraphic columns for each. By correlating the outcrops, I was able to make a composite section for the Marcellus in my study area.
Specific information I am looking for includes rock type, visible minerals, sedimentary features, concretions, parting geometry, parting thickness, fossils, mineral content etc. I also run a handheld spectral gamma-ray at the outcrops. This gives values of naturally occurring radioactive elements including uranium, thorium and potassium. This is one of the same tools that gas companies use to log there subsurface Marcellus wells. This way I can correlate my outcrops into the subsurface.
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TMS:
How will the work you and your advisors is doing going to help gas companies determine if there is rich shale potential? What specifically would gas drillers or energy companies are most interested in from your work?
Meg:
I did the project with the guidance of my advisors at West Virginia and with the help of my field partner Kyle Littlefield.
My thesis is of importance to oil and gas companies because they are producing gas from the formation in the subsurface. Geologists look at outcrops as analogs to the subsurface stratigraphy, so by better understanding the characteristics of the outcrop you can better understand the subsurface stratigraphy. In addition, because I used a spectral gamma-ray tool to correlate my outcrops to the subsurface, interpretations can be carried into the subsurface.
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TMS:
When did you begin this project (research into shale in West Va)? How long will the project last?
Where did the funding for this project come from?
Meg:
I began this project in the spring of 2010 and I am completing my Master’s thesis IN August 2011. I defended my thesis June 13th, 2011 and am about to turn in my final copy of my thesis to the library.
The funding for this project came from the DOE (department of energy) and more specifically URS Corporation at NETL.
I also had funding through Enerplus Corporation which is an oil and gas company out of Denver, CO.
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TMS:
Are you putting together a report, or will the thesis be published with this info?
Meg:
My master’s thesis document will be submitted to the WVU library. It will be open access so anyone can search for it online. The title is: “Outcrop Lithostratigraphy and Petrophysics of the Middle Devonian Marcellus Shale in West Virginia and Adjacent States.”
In addition, a paper was recently submitted to SEPM on this research. The authors are Dr. Kathy Bruner, Dr. Richard Smosna and I. (Two of my master’s thesis advisors)
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TMS:
Talk a little bit about the job itself. Do you work from a home base and go out and come back every day?
Do you set up camp at the areas you are researching?
Meg:
Most of the fieldwork was done over 2 or 3-day trips. My field partner (Kyle Littlefield) and I usually camped anywhere we could find around the location of the outcrops. In some of the more rural areas in West Virginia, camping locations and hotels were scarce.
We stayed at a friend’s farm near Burlington, WV once (thanks Sadie!) and sometimes just had to set up camp in the woods. As odd as it may sound, in rural WV camping locations can be hard to come by! There are large ridges that do not have roads that cut across them. The mountains frequently separated my outcrop locations from the state parks, wildlife reserves, and state forests where the camping facilities were. Therefore, we would have to traverse the entire mountain to get from the outcrop to a campsite… and that could take hours!
It was stressful, but fun. We got lost many times! West Virginia is beautiful!
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TMS:
You must have been in some very remote parts of West Virginia. Any exciting experiences with nature or the environment in some of these areas?
Meg:
Yes, it’s very remote. I would suggest never using a GPS in remote WV. It takes you over mountains on steep, one-lane roads that go nowhere. After driving around so much, visiting the outcrops each 2 or 3 times, Kyle and I got more familiar with West Virginia. (Some parts in the whole article when talking about a state, sometimes it is spelled out and other times it’s abbreviated)
We camped at some very remote places, a couple wildlife reserves. A mocking bird kept us up all night once! The crows also woke us up around 5:00 in the morning at Big Bend campground. That was one of our favorite locations to camp.
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TMS:
Share some of your personal ideas and opinions on the whole natural gas extraction controversy. Often you will hear that you have to be either for drilling, or against drilling.
Is this really a case of no middle ground?
How do you feel about the balance between promoting drilling and protecting the environment?
Meg:
Personally, I am in favor of drilling for gas in the Marcellus Shale as well as using hydrofracking techniques for extracting the gas.
As a geologist who has studied the Marcellus and has had several experiences working for gas companies here in the Appalachian Basin I understand the geology behind it all.
West Virginia and Pennsylvania are important to me and I am in favor of finding a balance between protecting the environment and producing our natural resources and I think finding that balance is possible.
The real issue is not the process of hydrofracking. The real issue is following and enforcing regulations as well as creating and enforcing new regulations to make sure steps are being taken to protect the environment.
I also think that there needs to be more people out on the rigs to enforce regulations. The biggest threat with hydrofracking is not the process itself but spills and illegal dumping. I think this can be solved by more strict regulations and monitoring.
The actual fracking processes has been around the Appalachian Basin since the 1950s and it allows for residents of West Virginia and Pennsylvania to enjoy cheap clean energy. Therefore, I am a friend of the Marcellus Shale.
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TMS:
What concerns you about the growth of natural gas drilling? How can we allow drilling but protect the environment? Or, can we?
Meg:
What concerns me is the pace at which wells are being drilled. I understand there is a time-line in which companies have to develop their leaseholds, but I think that some more research and better regulations would benefit the operation.
Yes I do think both are possible.
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TMS:
How do you assess the job/employment picture for people who want to become geologists? How has the Marcellus Shale play boosted opportunities in the northeast?
Meg:
Jobs are plentiful for students in the geosciences. The oil and gas industry is a large employer and there are many exciting and rewarding jobs all over the world in that field. Jobs in the environmental industry, hydrogeology, and GIS are also available.
Although, I would not suggest geology to anyone that is not passionate about the field. It takes a lot of hard work and dedication to the subject.
The Marcellus Shale play in West Virginia has boosted my job opportunities, mostly because I am studying the rock formation for my thesis. I have had interviews from companies all over the U.S.
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TMS:
You will be joining Shell Oil in September? What kind of work will you be doing there? How will this specific research project help you in this new role?
Meg:
Yes, I am very excited. I was hired on as a Production Geologist in Houston, Texas. However, the first couple of years you go through rotations and training. I am not sure what plays I will be working on however, I am sure it will be fun and rewarding.
Further Reading:
Marcellus Shale Potential Studied
from the Wheeling News Intelligencer
WVU Graduate Student Studies How Marcellus Shale Formed
WBOY.COM
