Hydraulic Fracturing Research Paper
Course Project
Week 2
ReyDel Veenstra
Hydraulic Fracturing
What is Hydraulic Fracturing: Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is a well stimulation process used to maximize the extraction of underground resources including oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing involves the pressurized injection of a mixture of water, chemicals, and sand in underground formations to allow natural gas and oil to flow more freely from rock pores to the surface. (Watershed Council p.1) A modification of this technique, called slickwater fracking, was used in Texas in 1998 to drill for natural gas from the Barnett Shale. Massive hydraulic fracturing treatments have been done in German tight sandstone gas wells since 1975. In 2012, the first research has begun in North Jutland where 80% of underground gas has been commissioned for extraction by Total E&P Denmark B.V., a subsidy of the multinational company Total S.A.. “ In the southern portion of South America, Argentina’s Neuquén basin appears the most prospective with good potential evident in the Cretaceous …show more content…
shales in the Golfo San Jorge and Austral-Magallanes basins. Additional shale gas potential exists in the frontier Parana-Chaco basin complex of Brazil and Paraguay in the Devonian Los shales.” (www.worldoil.com/August-2012-International-shale-resource-assessment-g...).
Natural gas is already a critical part of America’s energy portfolio and consequently a critical part of the country’s economic growth.
Not only does natural gas provide over 25 percent of electricity generation, natural gas, and othergases extracted from natural gas provide a feedstock for fertilizers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, waste treatment, food processing, fueling industrial boilers, and much more. Although natural gas prices in the United States have historically been volatile, the abundance of shale gas brings the possibility of low, stable prices. North America has approximately 4.2 quadrillion (4,244 trillion) cubic feet of recoverable natural gas that would supply 175 years worth of natural gas at current consumption rates. Further, the National Petroleum Council estimates that fracking will allow 60 percent to 80 percent of all domestically drilled wells during the next 10 years to remain
viable. The abundance of natural gas makes the United States an attractive place to do business, especially for energy-intensive industries. In what could be a growing trend, Royal Dutch Shell recently announced plans to build a petrochemical plant in western Pennsylvania and cited the proximity to natural gas production as the reason for the location. The $2 billion plant will create 10,000 construction jobs and thousands of permanent jobs for Beaver County, Pennsylvania. A new KPMG analysis of the U.S. chemical industry emphasizes that “[w]ith a new and abundant source of low-cost feedstock, the US market has transformed to become one of the most advantageous markets for chemical production in the world.” Shuttered steel towns like Youngstown, Ohio, are seeing a re-emergence of manufacturing employment opportunities. In Youngstown, V&M Star, the pipe and tube producer is building a factory to manufacture seamless pipes for hydraulic fracturing that will employ 350 people. Although the effects on the environment are a concern these things can be controlled and the country can still profit from what hydraulic fracturing can do. The jobs that it creates and the resources it can provide are extremely beneficial. This has made a major impact on the economy and the United States as a whole.it can provide are extremely beneficial. This has made a major impact on the economy and the United States as a whole.
Week 2
ReyDel Veenstra
Hydraulic Fracturing
What is Hydraulic Fracturing: Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is a well stimulation process used to maximize the extraction of underground resources including oil and natural gas. Hydraulic fracturing involves the pressurized injection of a mixture of water, chemicals, and sand in underground formations to allow natural gas and oil to flow more freely from rock pores to the surface. (Watershed Council p.1) A modification of this technique, called slickwater fracking, was used in Texas in 1998 to drill for natural gas from the Barnett Shale. Massive hydraulic fracturing treatments have been done in German tight sandstone gas wells since 1975. In 2012, the first research has begun in North Jutland where 80% of underground gas has been commissioned for extraction by Total E&P Denmark B.V., a subsidy of the multinational company Total S.A.. “ In the southern portion of South America, Argentina’s Neuquén basin appears the most prospective with good potential evident in the Cretaceous …show more content…
shales in the Golfo San Jorge and Austral-Magallanes basins. Additional shale gas potential exists in the frontier Parana-Chaco basin complex of Brazil and Paraguay in the Devonian Los shales.” (www.worldoil.com/August-2012-International-shale-resource-assessment-g...).
Natural gas is already a critical part of America’s energy portfolio and consequently a critical part of the country’s economic growth.
Not only does natural gas provide over 25 percent of electricity generation, natural gas, and othergases extracted from natural gas provide a feedstock for fertilizers, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, waste treatment, food processing, fueling industrial boilers, and much more. Although natural gas prices in the United States have historically been volatile, the abundance of shale gas brings the possibility of low, stable prices. North America has approximately 4.2 quadrillion (4,244 trillion) cubic feet of recoverable natural gas that would supply 175 years worth of natural gas at current consumption rates. Further, the National Petroleum Council estimates that fracking will allow 60 percent to 80 percent of all domestically drilled wells during the next 10 years to remain
viable. The abundance of natural gas makes the United States an attractive place to do business, especially for energy-intensive industries. In what could be a growing trend, Royal Dutch Shell recently announced plans to build a petrochemical plant in western Pennsylvania and cited the proximity to natural gas production as the reason for the location. The $2 billion plant will create 10,000 construction jobs and thousands of permanent jobs for Beaver County, Pennsylvania. A new KPMG analysis of the U.S. chemical industry emphasizes that “[w]ith a new and abundant source of low-cost feedstock, the US market has transformed to become one of the most advantageous markets for chemical production in the world.” Shuttered steel towns like Youngstown, Ohio, are seeing a re-emergence of manufacturing employment opportunities. In Youngstown, V&M Star, the pipe and tube producer is building a factory to manufacture seamless pipes for hydraulic fracturing that will employ 350 people. Although the effects on the environment are a concern these things can be controlled and the country can still profit from what hydraulic fracturing can do. The jobs that it creates and the resources it can provide are extremely beneficial. This has made a major impact on the economy and the United States as a whole.it can provide are extremely beneficial. This has made a major impact on the economy and the United States as a whole.