Why Oil Companies Harrisburg PA Are Drilling Into Shale Deposits
The discovery of vast oil and gas resources within deep shale rock formations and the development of new techniques in horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing techniques have changed the face of oil and gas exploration all over the globe. Oil companies Harrisburg PA, of which there are approximately ten, are no exception. The Marcellus Shale underlying half the western half of Pennsylvania and parts of northern Appalachia is one of the wealthiest gas fields in North America.
Exploration of shale gas formations in Appalachia, Oklahoma and Texas are projected to be able to supply the country with energy for the next 90 years. This allows breathing space for development of renewable energy sources like geothermal, wind, biogas, etc. In the past ten years, natural gas from shale now occupies 35 percent of all gas production in the United States.
The only thing preventing full blown exploration of shale gas resources is concerns about damaging the environment. Environmentalists, and the shale gas industry, are particularly disturbed by two problems. One of these is contamination of public water supplies and the other is earthquakes that are coincidental with areas being tapped for shale gas. Both of these concerns are being addressed by investment in high volume frac water management.
In order to get to the target reserves, massive quantities of water are transported to the drill site by truck or by pipeline. Here, it is processed into a gel and mixed with sand and a cocktail of chemicals to facilitate the fracking process. In preparation for the processed water, the shale rock deep beneath the surface of the earth is blasted at intervals along the horizontal borehole. The water and sand mixture is then pumped underground, where it keeps the fractures open long enough for the gas to flow upward to the surface.
Acting as a proppant, it is the sand that holds the fractures open. Once the gas has been released, the water comes back to the surface. This water is a combination of frac water as well as water that existed within the shale. This fraction, called production water, often exceeds the volume of the water that was used in the fracking process.
Depending on the size of the well, it can take anywhere from a few million to 60 million or more gallons of water to harvest the gas. Multiply that volume by tens of thousands of separate drill projects and you begin to understand the magnitude of the problem. The next technology, high volume frac water management, is the critical next step if these resources are going to be developed to their full potential.
One way of minimizing the volume of water to be carried off site is by placing it in rapid evaporation tanks at the drilling site. Water is sometimes transferred to frac water disposal wells. It is these disposal wells that are responsible for the earthquakes, and not, as is the public perception, the actual fracturing process. Contamination of public water supplies also comes from these wells.
Oil companies are working in partnership with frac water handling companies to solve these critical high volume water transfer problems. Overcoming the obstacles of frac water management is essential to effectively utilizing the rich resources lying deep within shale rock formations.
Exploration of shale gas formations in Appalachia, Oklahoma and Texas are projected to be able to supply the country with energy for the next 90 years. This allows breathing space for development of renewable energy sources like geothermal, wind, biogas, etc. In the past ten years, natural gas from shale now occupies 35 percent of all gas production in the United States.
The only thing preventing full blown exploration of shale gas resources is concerns about damaging the environment. Environmentalists, and the shale gas industry, are particularly disturbed by two problems. One of these is contamination of public water supplies and the other is earthquakes that are coincidental with areas being tapped for shale gas. Both of these concerns are being addressed by investment in high volume frac water management.
In order to get to the target reserves, massive quantities of water are transported to the drill site by truck or by pipeline. Here, it is processed into a gel and mixed with sand and a cocktail of chemicals to facilitate the fracking process. In preparation for the processed water, the shale rock deep beneath the surface of the earth is blasted at intervals along the horizontal borehole. The water and sand mixture is then pumped underground, where it keeps the fractures open long enough for the gas to flow upward to the surface.
Acting as a proppant, it is the sand that holds the fractures open. Once the gas has been released, the water comes back to the surface. This water is a combination of frac water as well as water that existed within the shale. This fraction, called production water, often exceeds the volume of the water that was used in the fracking process.
Depending on the size of the well, it can take anywhere from a few million to 60 million or more gallons of water to harvest the gas. Multiply that volume by tens of thousands of separate drill projects and you begin to understand the magnitude of the problem. The next technology, high volume frac water management, is the critical next step if these resources are going to be developed to their full potential.
One way of minimizing the volume of water to be carried off site is by placing it in rapid evaporation tanks at the drilling site. Water is sometimes transferred to frac water disposal wells. It is these disposal wells that are responsible for the earthquakes, and not, as is the public perception, the actual fracturing process. Contamination of public water supplies also comes from these wells.
Oil companies are working in partnership with frac water handling companies to solve these critical high volume water transfer problems. Overcoming the obstacles of frac water management is essential to effectively utilizing the rich resources lying deep within shale rock formations.
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