№84-24
Systematic analysis of the environmental impact of natural gas extraction considering technological stages
D. Kulikova1, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0874-0188
О. Borysovska1, https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7309-0236
A. Rudchenko1 https://orcid.org/0009-0000-1850-3712
1Dnipro University of Technology, Dnipro, Ukraine
Coll.res.pap.nat.min.univ. 2026, 84:300–311
Full text (PDF)
https://doi.org/10.33271/crpnmu/84.300
ABSTRACT
Purpose of this study is to carry out a systematic analysis of the environmental impact of natural gas extraction, considering the sequential technological stages of gas production, to identify the main sources of technogenic pressure, and to provide an integrated assessment of environmental risks to the components of the environment.
Methodology. The study was conducted using systemic, comparative, and analytical–synthetic approaches. The methodological framework was based on a stage-by-stage analysis of gas production activities within the full technological cycle, considering cause-and-effect relationships between technological processes, sources of pollution, and their impacts on environmental components.
Results. It was established that gas production activities are characterized by a complex technogenic load, the intensity of which vary significantly depending on the technological stage. The most environmentally hazardous stages were identified as drilling and hydraulic fracturing, which are characterized by a combination of high impact intensity, long-term consequences, and complicated processes of recovery. The comparative analysis showed that air is the most vulnerable to diffuse methane emissions, water resources– to localized but long-lasting chemical contamination, and soil cover to combined mechanical and chemical loads with slow rates of self-recovery.
Scientific novelty lies in the development of a systemic–matrix approach to assessing the impacts of natural gas extraction through the integration of indicators of impact intensity, pollution duration, and the complexity of recovery of environmental components within the full technological cycle of gas production. For the first time, a comprehensive integrated assessment of environmental risks was carried out for technological stages of gas production activities.
Practical significance lies in the possibility of using the proposed matrices of environmental impacts and risks as a tool for preliminary environmental assessment during the planning, operation, and decommissioning of gas fields, as well as for substantiating measures for environmental monitoring, and risk management.
Keywords: natural gas, gas extraction, environmental impact, environmental risks, matrix analysis, environmental components.
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date of first submission of the article to the publication – 01/12/2026
date of acceptance of the article for publication after review – 02/24/2026
date of publication – 03/30/2026