SHALE GAS - FRACKING

Presented by:
Espinosa Patricio
Estepa Edison
Granda Santiago
Hartos Cristian
Infante Bryan

Professor:
Ing. Richard Torres
6/19/2019 DUAL COMPLETIONS - WORKOVER 2019-2019 1
 BACKGROUND

1860 Nitroglycerine

1947 Possible use of water

1998 Mitchell Energy

George Mitchell
WHAT IS
FRACKING ?
• Hydraulic fracturing is the process of
extracting oil and natural gas that uses a
mix of pressurized water, chemicals and
sand to create small fractures at high
pressure within tight shale formations to
stimulate the production and safely
extract energy from a well.

• The process takes about three to five

days, on average, to complete from start
to finish. Once the fracturing operation is
finished, the well is considered
“completed” and is now ready to safely
produce oil or natural gas.
 Current Technologies of Shale Gas Extraction.
Horizontal Drilling

The current extraction technologies are

two and work in a complementary way:

Hydraulic Fracturing
 Fracking Process
• First, pump the "PAD" to initiate the fracture and establish the
spread.
• Then pump a fluid including a support agent which will keep
the fracture open after the treatment is finished.

• This mixture will continue to spread the fracture and lead the support agent through
it.
• After the fluid is pumped and the pressures and flow rates are reached to establish the
geometry of the fracture, the fluid breaks chemically and returns to the surface, thus
leaving a fracture of high conductivity
 Applications

Decreasing skindamage
Injection of fluids into the
formation
Increasing productivity in low
permeability reservoirs
Production increase
Geometría de la fractura

a) Mechanical properties of the rock

b) Properties of the fracturing fluid

c) Conditions to which the fracturing fluid is

injected (injection and pressure rate)

d) Formation strain

e) Distribution of efforts in porous media.

 Hydraulic fracturing fluids
• The fluid selected has a high influence on the effective result
of the length of the fracture, the conductivity of the fracture
and the cost of treatment.
• The properties of the fluid strongly govern the propagation
behavior of the fracture and the distribution and placement
of propping agents.

• Fluids that filter quickly in the formation have a low efficiency in creating and
extending a fracture.
• The effective viscosity of the fluid controls the internal fracturing pressure and the
transport characteristics of the support agent.
Typical composition of a fracturing fluid
Types of fracturing fluid
Additives

• Biocides
• Breakers
• Stabilizers
• PH controllers
• Surfactants
• Clay stabilizers
• Filter loss controllers
• Friction reducers
• Viscosity activators
Proppant
• It is important to note that the purpose of the proppant is to keep the
walls of the fracture stable for as long as possible
• The properties of the proppant that influence the optimum treatment of
fracturing will be: grain size, proppant quality, roundness, sphericity and
proppant density
• The most common and used proppant agents worldwide are: sand, glass
spheres, sands coated in resin, bauxite, ceramics and resin coated
ceramics.
Equipment

storage tanks Hoses

Suction
Blenders manifold
Suction pumps

Discharge
pumps

Batting mix

Download
Manifold
 ADVANTAGES

• Fracking has increased the possibility of recoverable oil reserves by at

least 30% and gas by 90%.
• Efficiency is high despite the complexity that this process demands.
• It provides us with cleaner energy access.
• It does not affect groundwater.
• It is a major jobs creator.
 DISADVANTAGES

Needs of large
volumes of
Seismicity water

Atmospheric
pollution
Greenhouse
effects gases
Waste

Water
contamination