WorldWide Drilling Resource

14 JULY 2015 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® New Reports Highlight Hydraulic Fracturing Adapted from Information by the United States Geological Survey Although hydraulic fracturing has been around since 1947, the rapid in- crease of wells using the enhancement technique has spurred different methods, fluids, and drilling practices. Since com- prehensive, published, and publicly avail- able information regarding the extent, location, and character of hydraulic frac- turing in the U.S. is limited, the USGS (U.S. Geological Survey) decided to con- duct an analysis of the data available. They studied nearly one million hydrauli- cally fractured wells and 1.8 million frac- turing treatment records from 1947 through 2010, to create two publications high- lighting the historical trends of hydraulic fracturing. “These national-scale data and analyses will provide a basis for making comparisons of current-day hydraulic fracturing to historical applications,” said Tanya Gallegos, USGS scientist and lead author. “We now have an improved under- standing of where the practice is occurring and how hydraulic fracturing character- istics have changed over time.” The national study identifies hydraulic fracturing trends in drilling methods and use of proppants (sand or similar mate- rial suspended in water or other fluid to keep fissures open), treatment fluids, additives, and water in the United States. The trends are compared to peer-re- viewed literature in an effort to establish a common understanding of the differ- ences in hydraulic fracturing, and provide a context for understanding the costs and benefits of increased oil and gas pro- duction. The publications also examine how newer technology has affected the amount of water needed for the process and where hydraulic fracturing has occurred at different points in time. Currently, hydraulic fracturing is used across the United States in most major oil and gas basins for the development of uncon- ventional oil and gas resources, but this wasn’t always the case. The rapid expan- sion of horizontal directional drilling has increased from 6% of new hydraulically fractured wells drilled in the United States in 2000, to a whopping 42% of new wells drilled in 2010. This is one example of how the most current hydraulic fracturing materials and methods are notably different from those used in previous decades and have con- tributed to the development of previously inaccessible unconventional oil and gas production target areas, namely in shale and tight-sand reservoirs. To access these informative reports, visit: http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2014/5131/ pdf/sir2014-5131.pdf )0&"%1 "6)&4 ,, ,, 2)&0 -%3120*"+ )0&"%1 "-% 312., )0&"%1 "-3'"$230&0 .' -&02*" !&+%&% 0*++ */& 3"+ !"++ 0*++ */& !*0&+*-& 0*++ .% "1*-( .,/.1*2& !*0&+*-& 0*++ .%1 .-*$ 0*++ */& "1*-( *21 &0$311*.- "1*-( *21 0*++ .++"01 *1)*-( ..+1 3#1 2"02&0 .%1 "-% 2"#*+*7&01 0*++ */& -$ )*0% 2 8 !*-12&% ).-& 8 8 "5 2., %0*++/*/&*-$ $., 8 444 %0*++/*/&*-$ $., A well in West Texas revealed the Permian Basin, 300 miles long and 250 miles wide, on July 20, 1920.