SOME HYDRAULIC FRACTURING EXAMPLE

In addition to the recovery processes featured in this series of drawings, hydraulic fracturing is included as an example of technologies that contribute to improvements in oil production. Hydraulic fracturing is used to create additional passageways in the oil reservoir that can facilitate the flow of oil to a producing well. Tight reservoirs, those whose oil-containing rocks have restricted pore volume and connectivity that impede the flow of oil through the reservoir, are commonly fractured by injecting a fluid containing sand or other proppant under sufficient pressure to create fractures in the rock through which the oil can more easily flow. Care is also taken to contain the fracturing within the oil reservoir to avoid intersecting adjoining aquifers that would introduce excess water into the oil-producing zone. 1.Tailored pulse fracturing is employed to control the extent and direction of the produced fractures. Precise quantities of solid rocket fuel-like propellants are ignited in the wellbore to create a controlled pressure "pulse" which creates fractures in a more predictable pattern. 2.Foam fracturing, using foam under high pressure in gas reservoirs, has the advantage over high-pressure water injection because it does not create as much damage to the formation, and well cleanup operations are less costly. Foam Fracs offer several potential advantages over Slick Water as a frac fluid. These advantages include:
Large volumes of water are kept out of the target formation by using a smaller amount of water, foaming agent, and nitrogen gas. Easier clean up due to the stored energy of the nitrogen gas in the frac fluid. Excellent proppant carrying and placement characteristics.

Foam fracing technology was first developed over 30 years ago and tested in shale and siltstone formations of the Appalachian Basin. Mr. Nicholson, will be addressing specific frac design principles for 21st Century Foam Fracturing that should be considered in Arkansas. Although frequently associated with excellence through many years in well control, Cudd is an industry leader in other energy services including well stimulations and Foam Fracturing in particular. 3.CO2/sand fracturing "CO2-Sand Fracturing", which uses liquid CO2 ,increases production by eliminating much of the inhibiting effects of pumped fluids such as plugging by solids, water retention, and chemical interactions. 4.Inclined Hydraulic Fracture Based on the pressure derivative concept, for interpreting pressure transient tests in wells with an inclined hydraulic fracture. A type curve matching technique was developed in this study using both pressure and pressure derivative curves. This type curve matching procedures can be used to obtain the following parameters: fracture half length, inclination angle, formation permeability and the pseudo-skin factor. A method for creating vertical hydraulic fractures in an inclined wellbore, having a casing therein, which penetrates a hydrocarbonaceous formation comprising.A method for improving vertical hydraulic fracturing of an inclined wellbore through in-line openings in said wellbore. Via this method, the initiation, growth, and propagation of vertical fractures are controlled.
This includes various methods to improve yield :

Method to create parallel vertical fractures in inclined wellbores A technique is disclosed for creating parallel vertical fractures from a horizontal or inclined wellbore. Magnitude and orientation of in situ stresses within the formation are determined, and a wellbore is drilled in the direction of the minimum horizontal in situ stress. The wellbore casing is then perforated in the vertical plane by selectively placing a pair of opposing perforations within the casing. Vertical fractures are then initiated and propagated in the plane perpendicular to the minimum horizontal in situ stress by applying hydraulic pressure to fluid in the wellbore casing.

METHOD OF INITIATING FRACTURES IN EARTH FORMATIONS MULTIPLE FRACTURING PROCESS VERTICAL FRACTURING PROCESS AND APPARATUS FOR WELLS & More

5.Massive Multi-Stage Hydraulic Fracturing (MMHF)

Intended to maximize drainage volume around a well. To this end, large volume hydraulic fracturing is usually executed at many perforated locations along a cased horizontal well, usually drilled parallel to hmin to maximize fracture length extension normal to the well axis

6.High Energy Gas Fracturing (HEGF) A propellant-based technology, has been applied to fracturing through perforations in cased boreholes. The use of propellants that deflagrate or burn, rather than propellants that deflagrate or burn, rather than high-order explosives that detonate, permits controlled buildup of pressure in the wellbore. The key to successful stimulation in cased and perforated wellbores is to control the pressure buildup of the combustion gases to maximize fracturing obtained, without destroying the casing.

Many of the tests of these technologies have been in G-Tunnel Complex at the Nevada Test Site (NTS)

Some experiments have been conducted in a tunnel complex at the Department of Energy's Nevada Test Site. This location provided a realistic in situ stress environment (8 MPa (1000 psi) overburden stress) and access for mineback to psi) overburden stress) and access for mineback to directly observe fracturig obtained. Primary variables in the experiments include propellant burn rate and amount of propellant used; presence or absence of liquid in the wellbore; in situ stress orientation; and perforation diameter, density, and phasing. Fracture surfaces propagate outward along lines of perforations, then gradually turn toward the hydraulic-fracture direction. Fracture lengths of 3 m (10 ft) or more are observed. It is shown that such fractures, with proper choice of propellant and perforation design, can be created with no attendant casing damage.

The Nevada Test Site is the most heavily-nuked piece of real estate on the planet. 126 above-ground tests were conducted here along with over 800 underground tests. Testing of actual weapons ended in 1992, but subcritical tests involving amounts of fissionable material too small to sustain a chain reaction are still conducted. Today, the NTS conducts open-air tests of toxic materials, disassembles atomic weapons, develops ways to clean up radioactively polluted sites and, according to a 2001 report in the New York Times, also conducts germ warfare experiments.The NTS is larger than the state of Rhode Island and has 1100 buildings, 400 miles of paved roads, 300 miles of dirt roads, housing for 1200 employees, a hospital, a post office, a fire station, and a Nye County sheriffs department substation (who are there mainly to arrest trespassers and haul them to the county jail). Surprisingly, the NTS also offers public tours with advance registration; complete details can be found in my book, TOP SECRET TOURISM, published by Feral House.

HIGH PRESSURE HYDRO-FRACKING OF SHALE 1.The horizontal hydrofracking (HHF) of shale strata is not dissimilar from exploding a
bomb underground. The pressures involved and the amount of fluid moved would qualify the hydrofrack as a large, powerful explosion, which has shown to be capable of producing earthquakes in natural faults, such as the tremor measuring 2.8 on the Richter scale on June 2, 2009 at Cleburne, Texas in the epicenter of shale gas production. Previously, no earthquakes had ever been recorded there. The pressures, volumes, and horizontal configuration of the well make it more likely that chemicals and natural gas will pollute aquifers than would a conventional vertical well.

2.Frack Pressures The fracking pressure in a shale gas well has to be extreme in order
to break up the rock as much as 15,000 pounds per square inch (psi).That is equivalent to the water pressure six miles deep in the ocean. By comparison, a thermobaric air bomb used in Afghanistan has an explosive pressure of about 500 psi, and it can be heard up to 100 hundred miles away.Shale is notoriously hard to frack. And bombs, including at least one nuclear bomb tested in Colorado, have been used in attempts to

break it up.From a pressure standpoint, the horizontal hydrofracturing of shale is effectively the explosion of a massive pipe bomb underground.

3. Volume of Fracking Fluids Since the fracked area itself can be quite extensive, the
amount of fracking fluids in a shale gas well can exceed a million gallons. That is equivalent to about fifty (50) residential swimming pools; or by weight, approximately 2,500 automobiles. Based on the volume of fluids moved, the fracking of a shale formation amounts to a massive water bomb. Since the lighter fracking chemicals separate out of the frack water, they are more likely to show up as pollutants in aquifers and ground water. This explains their presence in water wells near active shale gas wells.

4. Migration of Gas into Aquifers The fact that the fracked area of a well is horizontal
and of a considerable length simply increases the odds that some vertically and inclined faulting or localized faulting will be encountered (Figure 1). Since shale has relatively low permeability, the well has to be fracked repeatedly in order for it to continue to produce. Such multiple fracks simply increase the odds that the gas will either go out of zone via faulting, or out of the well bore via faulty casing. In either case, area ground water and aquifers are vulnerable to be polluted, first, by escaped natural gas, and subsequently, by fracking fluids, including toxic chemicals such as benzene, which will separate out of the frack water over time.

Conclusions and Recommendations

Unlike a vertical well, the lateral section of an HHF is much more likely to go under surface water sources aquifers, lakes, streams, springs, and rivers. This in turn increases the likelihood of exposing such water bodies via faulting to fracking fluids and natural gas. While the toxicity of the chemicals used in horizontal hydrofracking of shale gas may be no worse than in vertical conventional wells, the process has unique characteristics that make aquifers more vulnerable to this technology, particularly in areas where significant faulting exists but is poorly understood or where well casing standards are lax. The horizontal hydrofracking of shale gas is a potential delivery mechanism for toxic chemicals and natural gas into aquifers on a regional scale. The pressures involved in HHF shale gas wells are massive. If the frack enters verical faulting or if the well casing fails, the immense pressures can expose areas outside the shale to gas and fracking fluids. Too many well casings are failing during high pressure fracks. These casings must be built to withstand multiple fracks over the life of the well. When these casings fail, aquifers can be polluted with natural gas and fracking fluids. Obviously, a higher standard is needed to prevent well casing failure. Many of the problems associated with chemicals going into aquifers. Introduction of Natural Gas into Aquifers Either via faulting or by well casing failure, the natural gas released can enter aquifers. Since natural gas is made up of non-potable chemicals, it can and does pollute water-bearing strata. Separation and Migration of Fracking Fluids into Aquifers - While the amount of chemicals in the fracking fluid are small on a percentage basis, they include hydrocarbons, such as benzene and diesel fuel,12 which are lighter than water (Light Non-Aqueous Phase liquids, LNAP) and can

separate from the water after being introduced into the fracked area. If communication is established with an aquifer either via faulting or via well casing failures - the fracking chemicals, none of which are potable, can rise into aquifers, polluting the water. In fact, the recent report released by BP of the causes of the Gulf of Mexico well explosion and leak clearly shows that even the most expensive wells are subject to casing failures. The report cites a bad cement job around the production casing, which blew out when subjected to 8,000 psi. This level of pressure is lower than the average shale well's frack pressure. This suggests that at some point, the well casings can fail, leaking gas into aquifers. The problem of frack fluid dispersion out of zone is not unknown to the EPA, which has studied the phenomenon in similar situations, namely coal bed methane hydrofracking, where the pressures involved are a fraction of those found in shale HHFs: Therefore, EPA assumes that a greater volume of fracturing fluid must leak off to intersecting smaller fractures than what was assumed in the Draft Report, or that fluid may move beyond the idealized, hypothetical edge of fracture zone. This assumption is supported by field observations in mined-through studies, which indicate that fracturing fluids often take a stair-step transport path through the natural fracture system.

Research via:www.banfracnow.com