ShaleBlog.com » Horizontal Drilling

First Horizontal Shale Gas Well in South America

admin — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:59:11 +0000

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.

What is the Deep Carbon Observatory?

admin — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 15:30:07 +0000

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.

Huge Demand for Hydraulic Fracturing Services

admin — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 16:56:13 +0000

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.

Texas Rule 37 and Holdout Landowners

admin — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 19:11:51 +0000

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.

Shale Gas Drillers Switching to Shale Oil

admin — Wed, 12 Jan 2011 19:52:47 +0000

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.

Utica Shale: The Natural Gas Giant Beneath the Marcellus

admin — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:49:47 +0000

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.

View the article, maps and other graphics at Geology.com.

Harvesting Natural Gas with a 2-3% Footprint

admin — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 15:11:49 +0000

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.

What is Shale Gas?

admin — Fri, 17 Dec 2010 21:02:20 +0000

“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.”

Construction of a Natural Gas Well

admin — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 19:51:17 +0000

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.

Arkansas: Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Chemistry

admin — Sun, 12 Dec 2010 18:54:45 +0000

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.

First Hydraulic Fracturing Job in Poland

admin — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 15:29:06 +0000

“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.

What is Hydraulic Fracturing?

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 16:43:21 +0000

“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.

The Many Uses of Directional Drilling

admin — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 00:55:16 +0000

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 on Natural Gas Shales

admin — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 16:34:09 +0000

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 on Natural Gas Shales

admin — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 15:37:09 +0000