Since the first edition of Fracking was published, hydraulic fracturing has continued to be hotly debated. Credited with bringing the US and other countries closer to "energy independence," and blamed for tainted drinking water and earthquakes, hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") continues to be one of the hottest topics and fiercely debated issues in the energy industry and in politics.
Covering all of the latest advances in fracking since the first edition was published, this expanded and updated revision still contains all of the valuable original content for the engineer or layperson to understand the technology and its ramifications. Useful not only as a tool for the practicing engineer solve day-to-day problems that come with working in hydraulic fracturing, it is also a wealth of information covering the possible downsides of what many consider to be a very valuable practice. Many others consider it dangerous, and it is important to see both sides of the argument, from an apolitical, logical standpoint.
While induced hydraulic fracturing utilizes many different engineering disciplines, this book explains these concepts in an easy to understand format. The primary use of this book shall be to increase the awareness of a new and emerging technology and what the various ramifications can be. The reader shall be exposed to many engineering concepts and terms. All of these ideas and practices shall be explained within the body. A science or engineering background is not required.
Table of Contents
Preface xv
An Introduction to Hydraulic Fracturing xvii
1 Environmental Impact – Reality and Myth and Nero Did Not Fiddle While Rome Burned 1
1.1 The Tower of Babel and How it Could be the Cause of Much of the Fracking Debate 2
2 Production Development 5
3 Fractures: Their Orientation and Length 11
3.1 Fracture Orientation 11
3.2 Fracture Length/ Height 13
4 Casing and Cementing 15
4.1 Blowouts 16
4.2 Surface Blowouts 17
4.3 Subsurface Blowouts 17
4.4 Horizontal Drilling 18
4.5 Fracturing and the Groundwater Debate 18
5 Pre-Drill Assessments 19
5.1 Basis of Design 21
6 Well Construction 23
6.1 Drilling 23
6.2 Completion 26
7 Well Operations 29
7.1 Well Plug and Abandonment “P&A” 30
7.2 Considerations 30
8 Failure and Contamination Reduction 43
8.1 Conduct Environmental Sampling Before and During Operations 43
8.2 Disclose the Chemicals Being Used in Fracking Operations 44
8.3 Ensure that Wellbore Casings are Properly Designed and Constructed 44
8.4 Eliminate Venting and Work Toward Green Completions 44
8.5 Prevent Flowback Spillage/Leaks 45
8.6 Dispose/Recycle Flowback Properly 45
8.7 Minimize Noise and Dust 45
8.8 Protect Workers and Drivers 46
8.9 Communicate and Engage 46
8.10 Record and Document 47
9 Frack Fluids and Composition 49
9.1 Uses and Needs for Frack Fluids 50
9.2 Common Fracturing Additives 50
9.3 Typical Percentages of Commonly Used Additives 53
9.4 Proppants 53
9.5 Silica Sand 55
9.6 Resin Coated Proppant 57
9.7 Manufactured Ceramics Proppants 58
9.8 Additional Types 58
9.9 Slickwater 59
10 So Where Do the Frack Fluids Go? 61
11 Common Objections to Drilling Operations 63
11.1 Noise 64
11.2 Changes in Landscape and Beauty of Surroundings 65
11.3 Increased Traffic 66
11.4 Subsurface Contamination of Ground Water 67
11.5 Impacts on Water Wells 67
11.6 Water Analysis 67
11.7 Types of Methane and What They Show Us 70
11.8 Biogenic 71
11.9 Thermogenic 71
11.10 Possible Causes of Methane in Water Wells 71
11.11 Surface Water and Soil Impacts 72
11.12 Spill Preparation and Documentation 72
11.13 Other Surface Impacts 73
11.14 Land Use Permitting 73
11.15 Water Usage and Management 74
11.16 Flowback Water 74
11.17 Produced Water 75
11.18 Flowback and Produced Water Management 76
11.19 Geological Shifts 76
11.20 Induced Seismic Event 77
11.21 Wastewater Disposal Wells 78
11.22 Site Remediation 78
11.23 Regulatory Oversight 78
11.24 Federal Level Oversight 79
11.25 State Level Oversight 79
11.26 Municipal Level Oversight 80
11.27 Examples of Legislation and Regulations 80
11.28 Frack Fluid Makeup Reporting 81
11.29 FracFocus 82
11.30 Atmospheric Emissions 83
12 Air Emissions Controls 85
12.1 Common Sources of Air Emissions 87
12.2 Fugitive Air Emissions 88
12.3 Silica Dust Exposure 89
12.4 Stationary Sources 89
12.5 The Clean Air Act 90
12.6 Regulated Pollutants 90
12.7 NAAQS Criteria Pollutants 91
12.8 Attainment Versus Non-attainment 91
12.9 Types of Federal Regulations 92
12.10 MACT/NESHAP HAPs 92
12.11 NSPS Regulations: 40 CFR Part 60 92
12.12 NSPS Subpart OOOO 93
12.13 Facilities/Activities Affected by NSPS OOOO 93
12.14 Other Types of Federal NSPS and NESHAP/MACT Regulations 95
12.15 NSPS Subpart IIII 95
12.16 NSPS Subpart JJJJ 95
12.17 NSPS Subpart KKK 95
12.18 MACT Subpart HH and Subpart HHH 95
12.19 MACT Subpart ZZZZ 96
12.20 Construction and Operating New Source Review Permits 96
12.21 Title V Permits 96
13 Chemicals and Products on Locations 99
13.1 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) 102
13.2 Contents of an MSDS 103
13.3 Product Identification 104
13.4 Hazardous Ingredients of Mixtures 104
13.5 Physical Data 105
13.6 Fire and Explosion Hazard Data 106
13.7 Health Hazard Data 106
13.8 Emergency and First Aid Procedures 107
13.9 Reactivity Data 107
13.10 Spill, Leak, and Disposal Procedures 107
13.11 Personal Protection Information 108
13.12 HCS 2012 Safety Data Sheets (SDS) 117
14 Public Perception, the Media, and the Facts 123
14.1 Regulation or Policy Topics: Media Coverage and Public Perception 128
15 Notes from the Field 137
15.1 Going Forward 150
16 Migration of Hydrocarbon Gases 153
16.1 Introduction 153
16.2 Geochemical Exploration for Petroleum 154
16.3 Primary and Secondary Migration of Hydrocarbons 157
16.3.1 Primary Gas Migration 157
16.3.2 Secondary Gas Migration 159
16.3.3 Gas Entrapment 159
16.4 Origin of Migrating Hydrocarbon Gases 161
16.4.1 Biogenic vs. Thermogenic Gas 161
16.4.1.1 Sources of Migrating Gases 161
16.4.1.2 Biogenic Methane 162
16.4.1.3 Thermogenic Methane Gas 165
16.4.2 Isotopic Values of Gases 167
16.4.3 Nonhydrocarbon Gases 168
16.4.4 Mixing of Gases 170
16.4.5 Surface Gas Sampling 172
16.4.6 Summary 172
16.5 Driving Force of Gas Movement 174
16.5.1 Density of a Hydrocarbon Gas under Pressure 174
16.5.2 Sample Problem (Courtesy of Gulf Publishing Company) 176
16.5.3 Other Methods of Computing Natural Gas Compressibility 177
16.5.4 Density of Water 181
16.5.5 Petrophysical Parameters Affecting Gas Migration 183
16.5.6 Porosity, Void Ratio, and Density 184
16.5.7 Permeability 188
16.5.8 Free and Dissolved Gas in Fluid 189
16.5.9 Quantity of Dissolved Gas in Water 191
16.6 Types of Gas Migration 192
16.6.1 Molecular Diffusion Mechanism 193
16.6.2 Discontinuous-Phase Migration of Gas 195
16.6.3 Minimum Height of Gas Column Necessary to Initiate Upward Gas Movement 198
16.6.4 Buoyant Flow 199
16.6.5 Sample Problem (Courtesy of Gulf Publishing Company) 200
16.6.6 Gas Columns 201
16.6.7 Sample Problem 2.2 (Courtesy of Gulf Publishing Company) 203
16.6.8 Continuous-Phase Gas Migration 204
16.7 Paths of Gas Migration Associated with Oilwells 207
16.7.1 Natural Paths of Gas Migration 209
16.7.2 Man-Made Paths of Gas Migration (boreholes) 211
16.7.3 Creation of Induced Fractures during Drilling 213
16.8 Wells Leaking Due to Cementing Failure 217
16.8.1 Breakdown of Cement 217
16.8.2 Cement Isolation Breakdown (Shrinkage - Circumferential Fractures) 217
16.8.3 Improper Placement of Cement 220
16.9 Environmental Hazards of Gas Migration 222
16.9.1 Explosive Nature of Gas 222
16.9.2 Toxicity of Hydrocarbon Gas 224
16.10 Migration of Gas from Petroleum Wellbores 227
16.10.1 Effect of Seismic Activity 228
16.11 Case Histories of Gas Migration Problems 228
16.11.1 Inglewood Oilfield, CA 230
16.11.2 Los Angeles City Oilfield, CA 231
16.11.2.1 Belmont High School Construction 233
16.11.3 Montebello Oilfield, CA 234
16.11.3.1 Montebello Underground Gas Storage 234
16.11.4 Playa Del Rey Oilfield, CA 235
16.11.4.1 Playa Del Rey underground Gas Storage 235
16.11.5 Salt Lake Oilfield, CA 238
16.11.5.1 Ross Dress for Less Department Store Explosion/Fire, Los Angeles, CA 238
16.11.5.2 Gilmore Bank 240
16.11.5.3 South Salt Lake Oilfield Gas Seeps from Gas Injection Project 241
16.11.5.4 Wilshire and Curson Gas Seep, Los Angeles, CA, 1999 241
16.11.6 Santa Fe Springs Oilfield, CA 241
16.11.7 El Segundo Oilfield, CA 244
16.11.8 Honor Rancho and Tapia Oilfields, CA 244
16.11.9 Sylmar, CA - Tunnel Explosion 244
16.11.10 Hutchinson, KS - Explosion and Fires 247
16.11.11 Huntsman Gas Storage, NE 247
16.11.12 Mont Belvieu Gas Storage Field, TX 248
16.11.13 Leroy Gas Storage Facility, WY 248
16.12 Conclusions 249
References and Bibliography 252
17 Subsidence as a Result of Gas/Oil/Water Production 261
17.1 Introduction 261
17.2 Theoretical Compaction Models 264
17.3 Theoretical Modeling of Compaction 270
17.3.1 Terzaghi’s Compaction Model 272
17.3.2 Athy’s Compaction Model 274
17.3.3 Hedberg’s Compaction Model 275
17.3.4 Weller’s Compaction Model 275
17.3.5 Teodorovich and Chernov’s Compaction Model 276
17.3.6 Beall’s Compaction Model 277
17.3.7 Katz and Ibrahim Compaction Model 277
17.4 Subsidence Over Oilfields 279
17.4.1 Rate of Subsidence 281
17.4.2 Effect of Earthquakes on Subsidence 282
17.4.3 Stress and Strain Distribution in Subsiding Areas 283
17.4.4 Calculation of Subsidence in Oilfields 286
17.4.5 Permeability Seals for Confined Aquifers 289
17.4.6 Fissures Caused by Subsidence 290
17.5 Case Studies of Subsidence over Hydrocarbon Reservoirs 292
17.5.1 Los Angeles Basin, CA, Oilfields, Inglewood Oilfield, CA 292
17.5.1.1 Baldwin Hills Dam Failure 294
17.5.1.2 Proposed Housing Development 297
17.5.2 Los Angeles City Oilfield, CA 297
17.5.2.1 Belmont High School Construction 297
17.5.3 Playa Del Rey Oilfield, CA 299
17.5.3.1 Playa Del Rey Marina Subsidence 299
17.5.4 Torrance Oilfield, CA 301
17.5.5 Redondo Beach Marina Area, CA 302
17.5.6 Salt Lake Oilfield, CA 303
17.5.7 Santa Fe Springs Oilfield, CA 305
17.5.8 Wilmington Oilfield, Long Beach, CA 306
17.5.9 North Stavropol Oilfield, Russia 318
17.5.10 Subsidence over Venezuelan Oilfields 324
17.5.10.1 Subsidence in the Bolivar Coastal Oilfields of Venezuela 325
17.5.10.2 Subsidence of Facilities 328
17.5.11 Po-Veneto Plain, Italy 335
17.5.11.1 Po Delta 336
17.5.12 Subsidence Over the North Sea Ekofisk Oilfield 343
17.5.12.1 Production 345
17.5.12.2 Ekofisk Field Description 346
17.5.12.3 Enhanced Oil Recovery Projects 348
17.5.13 Platform Sinking 348
17.6 Concluding Remarks 350
References and Bibliography 351
18 Effect of Emission of CO2 and CH4 into the Atmosphere 361
18.1 Introduction 361
18.2 Historic Geologic Evidence 363
18.2.1 Historic Record of Earth’s Global Temperature 363
18.2.2 Effect of Atmospheric Carbon Content on Global Temperature 366
18.2.3 Sources of CO2 370
18.3 Adiabatic Theory 373
18.3.1 Modeling the Planet Earth 373
18.3.2 Modeling the Planet Venus 375
18.3.3 Anthropogenic Carbon Effect on the Earth’s Global Temperature 380
18.3.4 Methane Gas Emissions 383
18.3.5 Monitoring of Methane Gas Emissions 385
References 385
19 Fracking in the USA 389
Appendix A: Chemicals Used in Fracking 729
Appendix B: State Agency Web Addresses 907
Bibliography: 911
Index 913
