The advent of low-priced fuels in the U.S.A. qualifies as a major disruptive change in the American economy. The reshoring of the petrochemical industry is well under way, with over $100 billion in new plants on the design screens (forget drawing boards).
Russell Gold has been the Senior Energy Reporter for The Wall Street Journal for the last decade, which corresponds to the explosive growth phase of natural gas production in the U.S.A. Gold’s book, The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World, captures the human conflict of preservationists fighting ego-driven industrialists with a particular focus on Chesapeake Energy.1 He concludes with a thoughtful analysis of the immediate future.
Gold points out that hydraulic fracturing has evolved over decades as part of secondary oil recovery programs designed to increase production in aging petroleum wells. These were generally shallow wells, which did not require much pressure or fracturing liquid. Plus, the wells were drilled vertically through the producing formation. These formations were generally porous. The porosity helped increase production with even modest rupturing of the formation.
Two major advances in technology in the last decade are responsible for today’s boom. Gold reports that petroleum (gas and liquid) was also located in huge shale formations, but locked in place by the low porosity of the shale. One idea was to drill horizontally through the shale to increase the length of bore in the producing zone. However, this often failed since the hydraulic stimulation might break out, or the pumps were not strong enough to fracture the entire length.
In September 2008, Bud Bringham bet the store by hydraulic fracturing a well using “Swell Packers” developed by EOG Resources—the well had several hundred feet of horizontal bore through North Dakota’s Bakken formation. The Swell Packers facilitated isolating short segments of the bore, so the rock cracking pressure could be focused sequentially on each segment, increasing penetration of the formation. This worked beyond belief: Production was 1100 b/d oil and 1.3 million cubic feet of gas. This technology turned the Bakken formation into a major producible oil field. Careful engineering reduced the well cost to less than $16/barrel.
Fracking fluids are another concern, since the fluid that fractures the rock is regurgitated after the hydraulic pressure is released. This “flow-back” fluid may contain the original solution as well as debris and leachates from the formation. In the Marcellus Shale (PA, NY, and OH) this may include radon and related nuclides. Other formations give different effluent reflecting the particular geochemistry. Fracking fluids were initially a witch’s brew of complex chemicals. Over decades these formulations were simplified until arriving at the best formula, which is typically about 90% water, 1% additives for viscosity reduction, and the remainder sand or other solid “proppants.” These particulates prop open the fractures, increasing permeability.
Cementing is the weakest part of today’s fracking technology. Once the hole is drilled, steel casing is inserted. Then it is cemented in place. Ideally, the cement will fill up the annulus between the bore wall and the steel casing. Cementing should protect each formation from contaminating others channeling along the borehole. Gold points out that this is simple in concept but difficult in practice. Detecting cementing failures is difficult and hence an opportunity for new technology. Any ideas?
Since Gold is affiliated with The Wall Street Journal, he clearly focuses on the business side of hydraulic fracturing. However, his parents also owned property in Pennsylvania that was leased and successfully drilled as part of the development of the Marcellus Shale. The last chapter in the book compares the conflicting impacts on stakeholders including business, residents, and quality of life.
He cites the experience of Bartonville, TX. It may be more than coincidence, but it is the home of Rex Tillerson, the CEO of Exxon Mobile. When the lease agents appeared, Bartonville adopted a proactive response including hiring a part-time inspector and adopting ordinances specifying erection of sound walls and permissible hours of work. Water and air quality had to be monitored before and after drilling and throughout production. Before well completion, the driller had to submit inspection reports demonstrating that the cementing was properly executed and effective. Proactive management seems to be more effective than confrontation between drilling proponents and opponents.
The Boom is an interesting and quick read. I admit that I was looking for a more technical description than Gold offered.2 Yes, the growth in business driven by super egos and Wall Street greed has given birth to the era of cheap gas. Gold advises that cheap gas should be seen as a bridge technology. But the bridge better last a long time, since the next bridge head (for the future) is not yet in sight.
References
- Gold, R. The Boom: How Fracking Ignited the American Energy Revolution and Changed the World; Simon and Schuster, 2014; ISBN 978-1-4516-9228-0.
- For more technical reviews see: Malakoff, D. The gas surge. Science 2014, 344, June 27, 1464 & ff. and Stokstad, E. Will fracking put too much fizz in your water? Science 2014, 344, June 27, 1468-71.
Robert L. Stevenson, Ph.D., is Editor, American Laboratory/Labcompare; e-mail: [email protected].