Halliburton recently completed a horizontal well with multistage hydraulic fracturing at a depth of 4400 meters in the Neuquén Basin of Argentina. According to their press release it was the first horizontal gas shale well and the deepest shale gas well in South America. The well was drilled for Apache Corporation.
More at the Halliburton.com website.
The Deep Carbon Observatory is an initiative dedicated to achieving a transformational understanding of Earth’s deep carbon cycle, including its poorly constrained reservoirs and fluxes, the unknown role of deep biology, and unexplored influences of the deep carbon cycle on critical societal concerns related to energy, environment and climate.
Chad Deaton, CEO of Baker Hughes, Inc. reports that the demand for hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling services is currently so high that oilfield service companies are unable to schedule all of the jobs. More at NASDAQ.com.
The Texas Railroad Commission’s Rule 37 is the subject of an editorial in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. The author explains how this rule that regulates the spacing of oil and gas wells seems to be used to as a way to avoid dealing with Barnett Shale holdout landowners.
To improve their income many natural gas companies are moving to shale oil plays where the hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling strategies that worked for natural gas can be adapted to produce oil. More at Bloomberg.com.
A rock layer below the Marcellus Shale could prove to be another incredible source of natural gas. The Utica Shale is thicker, more geographically extensive and has already proven its ability to support commercial production.
In a recent letter to the editor of the Daily American, Lou D’Amico, President of the Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association explains how drilling multiple horizontal wells from a single drilling site allows the natural gas of an area to be harvested with only 2 to 3 percent of the total surface acreage being disturbed.
“Shale gas refers to natural gas that is trapped within shale formations. Over the past decade, the combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing has allowed access to large volumes of shale gas that were previously uneconomical to produce. The production of natural gas from shale formations has rejuvenated the natural gas industry in the United States.”
National Geographic has an interactive website that illustrates the construction of a natural gas well starting with the drilling pad, the vertical well, drilling horizontal and hydraulic fracturing. It is based upon a Marcellus Shale well in Pennsylvania.
The Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission will require drilling companies to release generalized information about the composition of fluids used in the hydraulic fracturing fluid starting on January 15, 2011. Hydraulic fracturing and directional drilling have been used heavily in Arkansas to develop the Fayetteville Shale. More at Platts.com.
“Halliburton recently performed the first-ever, shale hydraulic fracturing operation in Poland for PGNiG, the state-owned Polish oil and gas company. PGNiG contracted Halliburton to fracture the Markowola-1 exploratory well near Kozienice, Lublin province, to determine if the site contained commercial gas deposits.” Quoted from the Halliburton press release.
“Hydraulic fracturing is a procedure that can increase the flow of oil or gas from a well. It is done by pumping liquids down a well into subsurface rock units under pressures that are high enough to fracture the rock. 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.” Quote from the Geology.com article.
Video below by Chesapeake Energy.
Horizontal drilling has been one of the most important methods for developing natural gas shales in many parts of the world. Before it was paired with hydraulic fracturing these shales were not considered to be commercial sources of gas. Horizontal drilling is just one variation of directional drilling which has many other useful applications.
National Geographic has an article that reviews the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in extracting natural gas from shale formations that were once not considered to be natural gas “reservoirs”. The article also explores the economic and environmental role that water plays in the drilling/fracturing process.
National Geographic has an article that reviews the use of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling in extracting natural gas from shale formations that were once not considered to be natural gas “reservoirs”. The article also explores the economic and environmental role that water plays in the drilling/fracturing process.
Devon Energy and Chesapeake Energy in Oklahoma are recycling their frack water and that has drilling opponents concerned that recycled water produces an increased risk of water supply contamination. More at News OK.
Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing are techniques with origins in the oil industry. However, they are now being used so effectively for natural gas production that the oil industry is taking a new look at them. More in an article at RigZone.com.
Some of the horizontal wells in the Marcellus Shale of West Virginia require hydrofrac jobs that use four to six million gallons of water. The West Virginia Water Research Institute is working on a technology that will clean-up the flowback water to a point that allows it to be reused on the next frack job.
A drilling pad on the University of Texas at Arlington Campus produces in just one day, enough gas to supply nearly 1000 homes for an entire year. It can do that because 22 wells have been drilled there. More in the Star-Telegram.
Success in the Barnett, Marcellus, Haynesville and other gas shales of the United States has caused geologists in all parts of the world to reconsider shale as a natural gas reservoir. This video explores the shale gas potential in the United States and other parts of the world, environmental challenges, the role of LNG, competing energy sources and the politics of energy.
State legislators in Pennsylvania are debating proposals that will place hold-out landowners in a “poll” of owners who will receive royalties when a horizontal well is drilled on adjacent properties. Some believe that this is a taking of private property. More at KDKA.com.
Gastem USA has received approval from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation to do hydraulic fracturing tests of the Utica and Marcellus Shales in two wells. More at the Oil and Gas Journal.
The North Dakota Oil and Gas Division has an online query system that allows you to look-up production and location information for Bakken / Three Forks Horizontal wells by producing zone.
Horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have transformed natural gas production in the United States. Those same methods are now spreading globally, improving the energy opportunities in many countries.
If you follow the news about natural gas from shale you might appreciate the presentation of information in “Frac Attack: Risks, Hype, and Financial Reality of Hydraulic Fracturing in the Shale Plays”. View the report.
The City of Houston, Texas is considering a plan to allow a horizontal well to drain natural gas from beneath several city parks in exchange for lease payments and potential royalties. More at the Houston Chronicle.
Halliburton has done the first hydraulic fracturing job in Poland for PGNiG – the government’s oil and gas company. More at Reuters.com.
Newsweek has an article “Shale Gas: Hope for Our Energy Future” which is interesting… but for some readers the gem of the article might be the historical details about how the horizontal drilling and hydrofracturing methods were first applied to shale
A member of the Pennsylvania State Senate is concerned that gas companies might receive the ability to force landowners into “pools” as part of the proposed severance tax bill. More at The Times Tribune.
Encana has an informative video on their website that illustrates and explains the horizontal driling / hydraulic fracturing techniques used for many natural gas wells drilling in shale. Look for the video link on the right of the page – the video file is very large but worth waiting for the long download.
