Instead of using 5 to 6 million gallons of water to fracture a well in the Utica Shale of eastern Ohio, a company plans to use LPG (liquid petroleum gas or propane).
Although Vermont is one of the last places that might be drilled for oil or natural gas, Governor Peter Shumlin signed a bill that will ban hydraulic fracturing.
At the same time a bill in the North Carolina legislature would legalize hydraulic fracturing.
Several major natural gas drillers have developed a set of standards for hydraulic fracturing in the Appalachian Basin. The standards recommend practices for drilling, well design, water use, equipment use and public outreach.
“The chances of rogue fractures due to shale gas fracking operations extending beyond 0.6 kilometres from the injection source is a fraction of one percent, according to new research led by Durham University. The analysis is based on data from thousands of fracking operations in the USA and natural rock fractures in Europe and Africa.” Quoted from the Durham University press release.
“USGS scientists discuss the opportunities and impact associated with hydraulic fracturing. Doug Duncan, associate coordinator for the USGS Energy Resources Program, addresses the increasing role that unconventional oil and gas resources play in the nation’s petroleum endowment. USGS hydrologist Dennis Risser discusses some of the major water availability and quality challenges associated with natural gas development, with a focus on the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Bill Leith, associate coordinator the USGS Hazards Program, concludes by discussing the potential connection between disposal of waste fluids from hydraulic fracturing and earthquakes.” Quoted from the USGS video release.
“Hydraulic fracturing is rarely used in Arizona and thus is not a threat. There are no shale-gas wells in Arizona and there has been no horizontal drilling and no hydraulic fracturing associated with those types of wells.” Quoted from the Arizona Geological Survey article.
A process known as hydro-shearing is being used to develop a geothermal resource near Newberry Crater. The process involved pumping large volumes of water into subsurface rock units with the goal of widening existing fractures. This contrasts with hydraulic fracturing which is done using higher pressures with a goal of creating new fractures.
The state of Ohio has about 49,000 natural gas wells that together produced about 73 billion cubic feet of gas in 2011. However, one horizontal well in the Utica Shale produced 2.6 billion cubic feet.
Fracking the Marcellus Shale with propane instead of water may be allowed in New York and one company is exploring the possibility of using the method.
China is thought to have more shale gas than the United States but so far the resource is undeveloped – partly because of a lack of technology. Royal Dutch Shell will help change that by entering into a production sharing contract with the China National Petroleum Corporation.
A Washington Post article explores the impact of natural gas exports on the United States energy economy. Some fear that they will increase the price of gas in US markets and increase the use of hydraulic fracturing.
Iowa does not have any current oil or gas production, however, it is underlain by rock units that some believe have an outside chance of yielding oil or natural gas through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. This article in the Des Moines Register reveals some of the people who are betting and why.
“Hydraulic fracturing of shale formations to extract natural gas has no direct connection to reports of groundwater contamination [...] many problems ascribed to hydraulic fracturing are related to processes common to all oil and gas drilling operations, such as casing failures or poor cement jobs.” Quoted from the University of Texas at Austin press release.
The National Ground Water Association has published a position paper titled: “Hydraulic Fracturing: Meeting the Nation’s Energy Needs While Protecting Groundwater Resources.”
A new regulation will require drillers in Texas to report the chemicals in their hydraulic fracturing fluid and the amount of water used to frack each well.
An article published by the Oil and Gas Journal shows that methane was ubiquitous in shallow groundwater prior to oil and gas drilling in Susquehanna County, Pennsylvania.
Instead of digging trenches or drilling a vertical well to install a geothermal system, some contractors will drill horizontal wells. This allows installation without digging trenches and the wells can travel under buildings, parking lots, athletic fields and more.
Someone must have blamed the Virginiaearthquake of August 23 on hydraulic fracturing. An extensive article in the Daily Press explains why that is impossible.
Many property owners are very surprised when the royalties that they receive from a natural gas well on their property decline sharply. They are learning about production decline curves.
Jadela Oil recently used 5000 barrels of liquid propane and butane to frack a horizontal well in Maverick County, Texas. When gas is used for fracking it can be recovered and sold or recycled instead of being a disposal problem.
An article on the Oregon Public Broadcasting website describes the proposed use of fluid injection as part of an enhanced geothermal system that will utilize wells drilled on the flank of Newberry Crater. The U.S. Department of Energy is putting $22 million into the project. USGS has a recently installed seismic array that will monitor earthquakes produced by the injection.
EPA has issued a draft report titled: Investigation of Ground WaterContamination near Pavillion, Wyoming. From the conclusions: “Using this approach, the explanation best fitting the data for the deep monitoring wells is that constituents associated with hydraulic fracturing have been released into the Wind River drinking water aquifer at depths above the current production zone.”
Reuters.com has an article that describes how a Canadian company is using a propane gel instead of water when fracking a natural gas well. It eliminates the need for water disposal.
An article on TheCityWire.com website reports on a presentation given by Mike Yeager, an executive with BHP Billiton. He explains why the company was attracted to invest in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas.
In a NewsOK.com article, Larry Nichols, of Devon Energy says that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas and oil is receiving too much blame for contaminating ground water and causing earthquakes.
An article on the Star-Telegram.com website explores declining production from the Barnett Shale of Texas – the rock unit that supported the first important use of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
Early results from a University of Texas at Austin study of hydraulic fracturing and groundwater contamination suggest that there is no direct link between the fracturing and contamination. Problems of contamination are instead related to other parts of the drilling and well management process such as leaking casings, failed cement jobs and above-ground spills.
This article on recent earthquakes in Oklahoma includes ideas of what might be causing them from geologists at Purdue University Northwestern University and the Oklahoma Geological Survey. There is no strong evidence that they are being caused by hydraulic fracturing in the Woodford Shale or other rock units.
In this video, Dr. Bryan Tapp, a structural geologist at the University of Tulsa explains what he believes caused Saturday’s M5.6 earthquake in Oklahoma – it wasn’t hydraulic fracturing.
An article on the Platts.com website explains how Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory is studying how explosive detonations can be used as an alternative hydraulic fracturing in the production of natural gas from shale.
Ken Salazar believes that new rules for hydraulic fracturing that require chemical disclosure and well construction standards would ease public concerns about the controversial drilling method.
Several oil and gas companies are producing oil from horizontal wells drilled into the Mississippi Lime, a permeable limestone beneath the Kansas-Oklahoma state boundary.
Is natural gas part of the shale or is it a fugitive commodity that is not an integral part of any specific rock unit? Will a refined legal definition of natural gas in Pennsylvania overturn thousands of historic leases?
Many oil and gas companies that use hydraulic fracturing methods recycle the waste water produced during drilling. As a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in New York is lifted the Niagara Falls Water Board is ready to accept hydraulic fracturing wastewater from companies that are unable to recycle.
An article in the Los Angeles times points to small amounts of natural gas that are lost during drilling and production and asks: What is the climate impact?
A small number of mines can produce the “frack sand” used to in the hydraulic fracturing process. With natural gas drilling occurring at rapid rates in several US basins, some mines that can produce sand meeting the specifications have more orders than they can currently fill.
A well service company has a patented hydraulic fracturing fluid that is produced from orange peel extract. It is supposed to have a smaller environmental impact than other fluids in current use.
An injection well used to dispose of waste water produced by natural gas drilling in the Fayetteville Shale of Arkansas was thought to be causing hundreds of small earthquakes. The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission voted to close the disposal well but continue to allow injection activities associated with hydraulic fracturing process.
Marvin Odum, President of Shell Oil explains how hydraulic fracturing is used to enhance the production of natural gas from shale and why he believes the process will not harm private well water supplies.
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