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Hydraulic Fracturing
Hydraulic Fracturing
• 5. Production
Hydraulic Fracturing
Water laced with chemicals is pumped down to fracture the shale
and releases the gas, which can be pumped up.
Casing and Cementing
• Casing and cementing a wellbore is used
to:
o Protect groundwater from contamination
o Keep integrity of well-bore
• Casing is steel pipe that is designed to
handle:
o over- or under-pressured zones and
o high tensile stresses down hole
• Casing is cemented in place to safely
deliver hydrocarbons to the surface
Perforating the Formation
• Perforated using a “perf gun”
o Perforating guns use explosive charges to
fracture:
o Casing
o Cementing
o Formation
Pennsylvania has considerable coal and considerable gas in
shale formations. The coal is relatively “dirty”—high in
contaminants such as sulfur. The gas is far below the surface
in the Marcellus and Utica shales.
Marcellus shale