...What is Hydraulic Fracturing? Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling for natural gas and oil underneath the ground. Hydraulic fracturing is a procedure that can increase the flow of oil or gas from a well (what is Fracking, 2013). Hydraulic Fracturing Process It is done by pumping liquids down a well into subsurface rock units under pressures that are high enough to fracture the rock and release the gas. The goal is to create a network of interconnected fractures that will serve as pore spaces for the movement of oil and natural gas to the well bore (King, 2013). Hydraulic Fracturing in the United States, Europe and South America The first use of hydraulic fracturing to stimulate oil and natural gas wells in the United States was in the 1940s (King, 2013). This process used in nine out of 10 natural gas wells in the United States. In December 2012 the British government gave the approval for exploratory hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas from shale-rock deposits (Reed, 2012). In 2011, a horizontal well with multi-stage hydraulic fracturing was completed in the Neuquén Basin of Argentina. It was the first horizontal gas shale well and the deepest shale gas well in South America (Halliburton, 2013). Economic Impact/Concern of Hydraulic Fracturing According to the Global Fund Exchange, there are a number of environmental concerns related to hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing fluids...
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...Name Tutor Course Date Title: Hydraulic Fracturing POPULATION/PROBLEM/PROCESS Hydraulic fracturing or fracking, as it is commonly referred to, is a method of oil and gas extraction that has been in use for well over 60 years. This is a method that is centered on injecting a mixture of a proppant such as sand, chemicals and water into an oil or gas well. The injection of this fluid is responsible for creating fractures in the pre-drilled well, thereby allowing greater permeability of the stone. The small cracks in the stone are filled by the proppant, in this case sand, to keep them open even after the water flows back out. Among the chemicals used are gelling agents. The purpose of these gelling agents is to ensure that the proppant remains suspended in the mixture, and does not sink. Other chemicals in the mixture increase the fracturing ability of the solution. Once this has been achieved, the small pores and air spaces between the rocks are filled with the proppant and cause the natural gas trapped within the natural spaces to escape. This gas is then collected. The use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing has also been instrumental in the extraction of oil. The use of horizontal hydraulic fracturing has increased profitability and efficiency in the extraction of oil, when compared to the predominantly used vertical drilling methods. By increasing the extraction of natural gas from sources that were originally considered unproductive, this process has resulted in more...
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...The development of hydraulic fracturing regulation saw significant changes in the late 20th century. There had been state regulations throughout the 1940’s, but these were mostly concerned with surface water contamination. By the 1950s, however, landowners were complaining of contamination of drinking water, and state oil agencies discovered contaminated acquifers in the 1960’s. These complaints and the subsequent lawsuits in the 1960’s led to the beginning of state regulations on hydraulic fracturing. The Texas Water Pollution Board, for example, was founded in 1961, and was the state’s first true pollution-control agency. High profile cases like when an industrial waste injection well at Hamermill Paper released waste into Lake Erie and affected...
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...Hydraulic Fracturing or Hydro Fracking is a highly debated topic, even though it isn’t a new technology. In 1880 it was used as a way to enhance production to reactivate oil and gas. In the 1980’s experiments were performed in Texas in a large shale deposit called “Barnett Shale”. Today Hydrofracking is performed on shale deposits to remove fossil fuels. Even though hydro fracking has been around since 1860 the technique to get natural gas from shale is actually a new technology. There is much debate on whether hydrofracking is good or bad for the environment. Hydrofracking is the process of using fluids and water that is pumped at an extremely high pressure to crack or fracture the shale to get to the fossil fuel deposits inside of it. To get to the shale, companies have to drill deep into it before they can use the water to fracture it....
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...Land Use Control in Hydraulic Fracturing Prepared for Katherine Wears, Phd. Professor and Assistant Dean at Clarkson University Prepared by Martin Sable Student, Masters in Engineering Management at Clarkson University August 10, 2014 Executive Summary This paper will review the process of hydraulic fracturing, its effects on the environment, and the opposition against the practice. A chronological discussion of lobbying activities and regulatory actions will be discussed, with a particular focus on land use control. A discussion of some of the past and potential future litigation on land rights related to the subject will be covered. The paper will end with the author’s opinion on the subject and of the potential future of the industry. Background Hydraulic Fracturing is a method of simulating well production in both natural gas and oil wells. It was first introduced in 1947, and was adopted for commercial applications as early as 1949.15 The process involves drilling wells deep into ground rock formations, then injecting fluids at high pressure into the ground. The high pressure causes fracturing of the rocks that release gas or oil into the wells that may then be extracted. In 1968 high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) was introduced, in an effort to tap into the large shale basins containing deposits of natural gas. The main difference between this and conventional hydraulic fracturing is tremendous volume of fracturing fluids that are pumped...
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...What is Hydraulic Fracturing? Hydraulic Fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer by a pressurized fluid. It is used to extract valuable resources easier, that are buried deep in earth’s crust. Induced hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracturing, commonly known as fracing, fraccing, or fracking, is a technique used to release petroleum, natural gases including shale gas, tight gas, and coal seam gas, or other substances for extraction. This type of fracturing creates fractures from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations. In US, Hydraulic Fracturing is a common method. It is mainly used in the oil rich regions such as South and North East. However some of the drilling sites are on hold as there’s a research going on in order to understand the effects of Hydraulic Fracturing on drinking water reserves. In Europe, Bulgaria and France are the only countries that have big enough shale gas reserves to be investing on Hydraulic Fracturing and have the method banned. In Ireland there are strong protests going on to ban the method, but in UK and Poland Hydraulic Fracturing method is commonly used. South America, home for less developed countries in general, had it’s first shale gas well in 2011. So far it remains to be the only one. Economic Effects: Hydraulic fracturing is a common method of extracting resources from the ground right now. And in the future, it is expected that almost 70 percent of the natural gas extracting will be done via...
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...Introduction Hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking, is a means of natural gas extraction employed in deep natural gas well drilling. The fracturing is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations. The rock layers are fractured when chemical-laced water and sand are blasted underground to break apart rock and release natural gas. The chemical based water is known as fracking fluid. The fracking fluid injected into the rock is typically a slurry of water, proppants, and chemical additives. Additionally, gels, foams, and compressed gases, including nitrogen, carbon dioxide and air can be injected. Various types of proppant include silica sand, resin-coated sand, and man-made ceramics. These vary depending on the type of permeability or grain strength needed. Sand containing naturally radioactive minerals is sometimes used so that the fracture trace along the wellbore can be measured. Chemical additives are applied to tailor the injected material to the specific geological situation, protect the well, and improve its operation, though the injected fluid is approximately 98-99.5% percent water. (Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer, 2009) For each frack, 1-8 million gallons of water and 80 – 300 tons of chemicals may be used to frack a well. A well may be fracked up to 18 times. (Fox, 2010) Figure 1: Hydraulic Fracturing (Albertan, 2011) History Hydraulic fracking of oil and gas wells was first used in the United States in 1947...
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...Legal Issues in Hydraulic Fracturing Demand for energy shows every promise of remaining high, and supplies of natural gas and oil worldwide are dwindling. Renewable and alternative energy sources – for example, wind-generated electricity, or nuclear power – are being developed and considered at the national level; however, at the time of writing more than half of the total energy consumed in the United States comes from oil and natural gas sources. Specifically, natural gas was – in 2011 – providing fully a quarter of the total energy consumed in the United States (Obama, 2013). Hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking”, provides a means of exploiting the reserves of natural gas within United States territory. These natural gas reserves are positioned in such a way that they cannot typically be exploited by traditional methods, and instead are produced by a process of hydraulic fracturing. This means of oil and gas production is relatively new, and it remains controversial in terms of economics, safety and environmental cost. In addition to ecological, sociological and political considerations, there are many legal issues involved in the production of energy via hydraulic fracturing (Hagstrom and Adams, 2012). Regulation The actual activity of hydraulic fracturing is carried out by private corporations; however, the process is governed by multiple State and Federal regulations and laws. As the field of hydraulic fracturing is developing quickly and recently, legislation...
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...Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic fracturing is a process of drilling and injecting fluids at a high pressure into the ground to break rocks and release methane gas and toxic chemicals and contaminate groundwater. “Hydraulic fracturing is used after the drilled hole is completed. Put simply, hydraulic fracturing is the use of fluid and material to create or restore small fractures in a formation in order to stimulate production from new and existing oil and gas wells. This creates paths that increase the rate at which fluids can be produced from the reservoir formations, in some cases by many hundreds of percent.” (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, 2010) This process allows production in older oil and natural gas fields. Hydraulic fracturing has been used in the United States since the 1940’s. “The U.S. has vast reserves of natural gas that are commercially viable as a result of advances in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technologies enabling greater access to gas in shale formations. Responsible development of America's shale gas resources offers important economic, energy security, and environmental benefits.” (United States Environmental Protection Agency, 2013) Fractures in Onshore shale and Tight Rock formations are oil fracking. It can be natural or man-made through rock. The fluid includes water, sand, ceramic and often chemicals. “High-pressure Fracking is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations to increase...
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...| Hydraulic Fracturing Hydraulic fracturing is a completion process that has been proven. It allows producers to recover natural gas and oil safely. This process reduces our national carbon dioxide, reduces our reliance on foreign fuel imports, and accelerates our transition to a carbon light environment. The development of natural gas and oil is critical to America’s energy needs and economic renewal. The process of hydraulic fracturing is using water pressure under tight controls to create fractures in rock that allow oil and natural gas to escape and flow up out of the ground. While in this process “fracturing fluids” are mixed in using high pressure. This creates fissures that allow resources to move freely from rock pores where they are trapped. (Chesapeake Energy) First, the way hydraulic fracturing works is a production drill is drilled through the rock layers to intersect the coal seem that contains coal bed methane, CBN. Second, fractures are created or existing fractures are enlarged in the coal seem so that the CBM can be drawn from the well and pumped to the surface. These fractures are created or enlarged by using a thick water-based fluid which is gradually increased by rate and pressure. Third, over time the coal seam is unable to keep up with the fracturing fluid which results in high pressure causing the coal to fracture along the weaknesses within. Sand is pumped into these fractures to keep them ‘propped’ open after the pressures are released. After a...
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...High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing: Tight Oil Kevin Conibear 10060801 Geology 377: Petroleum Engineering Dr. Rob Taerum April 11, 2014 Introduction Tight oil has reversed a decline in Western Canadian and U.S oil production. In tandem with advancements in horizontal drilling, high volume hydraulic fracturing has enabled companies to tap into billions of barrels of tight oil that were previously thought to be inaccessible. Tight oil, trapped in microscopic pores within impermeable layers of shale, is an unconventional oil reservoir. Unconventional reservoirs cannot be extracted through a traditional ‘well and pump’ procedure. Conversely, conventional oil reservoirs can be extracted through this traditional process. Conventional reservoirs are layers of rock that allow oil to flow relatively easily through a series of pores in the rock, thus are high in porosity and permeability. However, there are a diminishing number of conventional reservoirs, leading to the increased demand for the production unconventional oil – tight oil. Hydraulic fracturing is a technique that creates cracks within shale formations, allowing tight oil to flow freely for efficient and profitable extraction. This process has only recently been utilized to its great potential, and has proven to have profound economic implications. What is shale? Shale is fine-grained sedimentary rock that is often rich in in petroleum and natural gas. Sedimentary rocks are formed through an accumulation of sediment...
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...Water Crisis 6 Chapter-3: The environmental effects of Hydraulic Fracturing 8 Air: 8 Water: 8 Deforestation: 9 Health: 9 Climate: 9 Faulty Wells: 9 Chapter-4: Hydraulic Fracturing: A Controversial Topic 10 Chapter-5: Conclusion and Recommendation 12 5.1 Water Scarcity Issues and Factors: 12 5.2 Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Scarcity: 14 Bibliography 15 Appendices 17 Appendix-1: Shale Gas Extraction 17 Appendix-2: Components of Fracturing Fluid 18 Appendix-3: Percentage of Global share by gas types 19 Appendix-4: Reducing Surface Footprint with Horizontal Drilling 20 Appendix-5: Satellite view of a Hydraulic Fracturing fluid storage 21 Appendix-6: Possible risks of Hydraulic Fracturing 22 Appendix-7: Global physical and economic water scarcity 23 Appendix-8: Survey conducted in Yangon, Myanmar 24 Chapter-1: Introduction Hydraulic fracturing is the process of obtaining natural gas by drilling into shale rock layers deep within the Earth. This process was made possible by advances in drilling technology in the past 100 years (www.energyfromshale.org/). Hydraulic fracturing of shale gas is also known as “fracking”. Hydraulic fracturing involves usage of vast amounts of a water mixture directed under high pressure at layers of shale to release the gas. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation states that approximately 2.4 to 7.8 million gallons of water are needed per fracturing process. The water mixture contains 90% water, 9.5%...
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...Hydraulic Fracturing Jasmyne Thomas Stratford University Abstract What is hydraulic fracturing? The process of creating fissures underground in order for natural gasses to be able to flow. Millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals are drilled and injected at high pressures in a shale formation creating the fractures need to release the natural gas from shale rock. The fracking fluid is then pushed and drilled down into the ground 10,000 ft. at high volumes of pressure then reaches the end of the well causing the shale rock to crack and the natural gas begins to flow into the well to the surface for use. This hydraulic fracturing idea is something that has been around for years. With much research the process has changed and become a new formation. Shale is a sedimentary rock that forms from silt and clay-size mineral like mud. The oil and natural gas migrated out of black shale rock upwards because of the low density that it has. Conventional reservoirs are deposits where the natural gas and oil flow through the pores of the rock in and up through the well. Marcellus Shale is 1 mile beneath our earths surface. It can be found in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York. Small amounts can be found in states nearby but Pennsylvania is the main supply for Ohio and New York. Thousands of wells are now being drilled in Pennsylvania a year and in the near future New York will follow suit but New York’s water supply isn't...
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...BP Paper Rough Draft 11/23/2012 April 20, 2012 British Petroleums drilling vessel Deepwater Horizon suffered an explosion, and then began expelling enormous amounts of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Although many different individuals and organizations attempted to help BP fix their spewing well, it wasn’t until July 15 that the vent was cut off. Through our research we have developed an analysis that examines the cause of the cause of the disaster, the event itself and its aftermath. We would also like to offer our recommendations on the subject. British Petroleum is an international oil company base in London and is one the nations leading oil and gas producer (History of oil spill). In spite of BP’s market share, as a company they have an unfortunate history of safety breeches including a 2005 explosion at oil refinery in Texas (Deep Water dDrilling). These accidents seem to be a cause of weak corporate safety culture and cost leadership (On average, fifty percent of management bonuses were awarded on the basis of cost cutting). The lack of proper safety practice and absence of oversight has ultimately resulted in infrastructure and architectural failure (Deep Water Drilling). As with any disaster, each party involves attempts to prove their innocence and are all too quick to point a finger at a party that must be guiltier than they and the Deepwater Horizon spill is no different. Although BP owned the oil, other companies had considerable interaction with Horizon;...
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