Hydraulic Fracturing: Opportunities and

Obstacles

EE351

Spring 2014

PREPARED BY:

Trigg Ruehle

PAPER DUE DATE: MARCH 24, 2014

ABSTRACT/EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Oil and gas have play a huge role in electricity production as well as transportation. The United

States has depended on foreign countries to supply this oil for many years. There are vast shale

deposits in the United States and Canada that were unreachable before hydraulic fracturing

technologies. Hydraulic fracturing technologies will play a huge role in oil and gas extraction in

the future as America strives for energy independence. With the use of horizontal fracking, new

propellants, and hydrocarbon targeting technology there is a huge opportunity to increase the

recovery rate of oil from shale.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

Oils have played a huge role in the industrial revolutions as well as for energy use for countries

for the past couple centuries. Oils and gases have been known for thousands of years and have

been found on almost every continent in the world. Petroleum based products have been used for

thousands of years from the construction of the tower of Babylon to heating and lighting in Japan

and China prior to 400 AD. [1] Early oil wells were found in China that used with bamboo

piping to extract the oil as well as salt from nearby veins. [2] Oil has been found in sand pits,

springs, as well as tar pits and cave like formations.

Modern day use of petroleum started in the 19th century with the refining of paraffin which is a

hydrocarbon. Hydrocarbons are chemical structures that only have hydrogen and carbon in their

chains. Methane, Butane, paraffin, are all examples of hydrocarbons. Refineries began refining

crude oil as early as 1848 crating kerosene for lighting and other uses. One of the first ever

modern oil wells was excavated in Baku and Poland. During the early years of oil production

most of the oil came from the Azerbaijani Region. Coal was a major source of energy for many

years powering locomotives and other machines until oil refining became common. As seen in

the graph below oil really started playing a big role in energy consumption towards the end of

the 19th century. [3]

Figure 1: World Energy Consumption [3}

The United States first began digging for oil in Pennsylvania when Edwin Drake struck a vein of

oil near Titusville. This created a huge opportunity for investors to start selling oil on a

commercial scale which entices many people to start looking for oil. Edwin Drake’s discovery

led to Pennsylvania’s Oil Rush. Until around 1901, Pennsylvania was accountable for around

half of the world’s oil productions until oil was discovered in Texas. [4] When oil was

discovered in Texas it was still only used for lighting and lubrication of locomotives and other

machines. Anthony Lucas was an early oil prospector that struck oil on Spindle top Hill near

Beaumont, Texas. This was a huge well producing almost 100,000 barrels a day. This is 10,000

times than Edwin Drakes well which produced only 10 barrels a day. After people start realizing

the potential uses for energy, oil companies emerge like Gulf Oil, Amoco, and Humble Oil

Company. [5] As seen in the graph below, World oil production has steadily been increasing at

an exponential rate since 1900.

Figure 2: World Oil Production [6]

After the oil boom in Texas, oil wells sprung up all over the world from Peru to Iran. The US

still stayed as the leader of oil production until around the 1950’s. In 1968 OPEC was formed or

the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries. This created a major shift in oil

production as Kuwait, Libya, and Saudi Arabia joined OPEC. In the 1970’s OPEC greatly

increased process due to The US involvement in the Yom Kippur War. [7] This eventually led to

an energy crisis. From this oil crisis, Presidents started to vow to get off foreign oil and become

energy independent. Oil prices have fluctuated so much over the year from embargoes and wars

which has led many Americans to want to be energy independent and not relying on foreign

economies to produce oil. As seen below, the price of oil has been jumping around due to world

events from the embargo in 1970’s to the War with Iraq in 2001.

Figure 3: Oil price evolution over the years [8]

Huge increases in oil prices has pushed technology to advance creating more and more efficient

ways of extracting oil and gas. One way that America can become energy independent as well as

export oil to other countries is hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing recovery is very low but

with use of new propellants, horizontal fracturing techniques, and hydro carbon targeting

technology there is an opportunity to increase the recoverable oil from shale.

DISCUSSION

Throughout the years many new technologies have helped produce more and more oil in places

that were eventually unreachable before. Hydraulic Fracturing or “fracking” has helped recover

oil in places where before it was uneconomical to produce this oil. Oil is trapped in shale which

in the past has been very unreachable to primitive oil drilling practices. Fracking opens up a huge

opportunity to produce oil from these spots in the world that seem unreachable. Pressurized fluid

,explosives, or propellants are used to create fractures in the shale that then can propel the oil out

of the shale using a proppant such as sand to create pressure to force the oil into the wellbore,

which then makes its way to the surface due to the pressure gradient produced. As seen in the

picture below the well must be horizontal to reach the tiny reservoirs of oil that pool into the

fractures. [9]

Figure 4: Hydraulic Fracturing Schematic [10]

These huge amounts of formerly inaccessible hydrocarbons now can be extracted and used instead of

relying on foreign oil for our energy use. Fracking is used to increase the rate at which hydrocarbons

are recovered from the natural reservoirs. Without fracking these natural reservoirs would be

unreachable and the oil would be unusable. The shale usually runs horizontal which creates stress on

the wellbore and can create tension which can be very dangerous to be around. [11]

With the pressures being so high and at such great depths concrete and steel reinforcement is added

to the borehole to make sure that the casing can withstand the fractures. As seen in the image below

many casings are needed to withstand these fractures. With better and better casings more fractures

can lead to more oil. [12]

Figure 5: Borehole Casing [13]

If stronger more durable materials are used for the borehole casings there is a huge opportunity to

increase oil recoverability. More fractures mean more oil. Previously, bore casings could only handle

small amounts of fractures. With newer technologies implemented boreholes can become larger

leading to faster streams of oil and easier transfer of oil from the fracture to the borehole. As shown

in the image below using different casing techniques actually play a huge role in recoverability.

Sliding sleeves only have 30 potential entry points versus concrete liners with almost 120 entry

points. Making more entry points for oil to flow can significantly increase well production. [14]

Figure 6: Casing Technologies [14]

Wells using new cemented liners actually increase the chances that oil will go into the borehole. With

better casing technology less oil is left in the field and more oil is sent through the bore hole. This

can significantly increase oil recoverability.

Vertical wells became very inefficient as many vertical wells are needed to produce the same amount

of oil as a horizontal well due to shale forming in horizontal veins. As seen below it would take 32

vertical well sites to do the same job as one current horizontal well site. [15]

Figure 7: Horizontal Vs. Vertical Wells [15]

Horizontal drilling techniques are one way that more oil can be reached and extracted. Previously

many more wells were needed to do the same work of horizontal wells. This is one way that oil has

become more recoverable is using horizontal drilling techniques. More and more volumes of oil can

be extracted with better drilling practices. If companies can incorporate vertical shaft on their already

existing horizontal shafts oil recoverability can increase significantly. [15]

Propellants used in fracturing play a huge role in the ease at which the oil is transferred from the

reservoir to the surface. Increased well simulation can actually increase recoverability of oil from

shale. With better models, propellants can be placed in regions that will produce the most fractures

and therefore the most oil. [16]

Figure 8: Advantages of Propellant Technology [16]

These well simulations will help locate Hydrocarbons locating and also play a huge role in the

recovery factor. Being able to find hydrocarbons faster and more efficiently will help other areas of

the fracking jobsite which in turn will create more oil. Spending less time finding the hydrocarbons

and focusing on increasing bore size and scope will significantly increase oil production. These new

propellant technologies clear perforation tunnels, extend fractures, as well as flush out the area

surrounding the wellbore.

The use of new well technology will also play a huge role in recoverability. Halliburton is currently

using huge spools of fiber optic cables wrapped in steel to send down the borehole to monitor

temperature gradients. Through these temperature gradients, Halliburton can see where the oil is

rushing to when the fractures occur. From this real time data they can send pressure to those areas of

built up oil and therefore can extract more oil. [17]

CONCLUSIONS

A huge opportunity to increase the recoverability of hydraulic fracturing is better horizontal

drilling practices. If companies were able to create more and more veins for the oil to be

extracted from this can greatly increase the volume of oil extracted. For this to happen new

stronger casings for the borehole need to be produced such as using titanium and other

techniques. Horizontal fracking will play a huge role in recoverability as shale forms

horizontally. This will decrease the number of wells needed on the surface and increase well

production by reaching more of the oil in the shale.

Casing of the borehole plays a huge role in recoverability. With the pressures being so high and

at such great depths concrete and steel reinforcement is added to the borehole to make sure that

the casing can withstand the fractures. As seen in the image below many casings are needed to

withstand these fractures. With better and better casings more fractures can lead to more oil. If

stronger more durable materials are used for the borehole casings there is a huge opportunity to

increase oil recoverability. More fractures mean more oil. Previously, bore casings could only

handle small amounts of fractures. With newer technologies implemented boreholes can become

larger leading to faster streams of oil and easier transfer of oil from the fracture to the borehole.

One way that Halliburton is increasing their recoverability is using new well simulation

technology. Better Well simulations will help locate Hydrocarbons locating and also play a huge

role in the recovery factor. Being able to find hydrocarbons faster and more efficiently will help

other areas of the fracking jobsite which in turn will create more oil. Spending less time finding

the hydrocarbons and focusing on increasing bore size and scope will significantly increase oil

production. Another way Halliburton is increasing recoverability is using huge spools of fiber

optic cables wrapped in steel to send down the borehole to monitor temperature gradients.

Through these temperature gradients, Halliburton can see where the oil is rushing to when the

fractures occur. From this real time data they can send pressure to those areas of built up oil and

therefore can extract more oil. With more and more technology aimed at locating the oil after

fracture, there is a huge opportunity to make hydraulic fracturing more efficient.

BIBLIOGRAPHY/REFERENCES

[1] "Petroleum". Encyclopedia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press

[2] Salim Al-Hassani (2008). "1000 Years of Missing Industrial History". In Emilia Calvo

Labarta, Mercè Comes Maymo, Roser Puig Aguilar, Mònica Rius Pinies. A shared legacy:

Islamic science East and West. Edicions Universitat Barcelona. pp. 57–82 [63]. ISBN 84-475-

3285-2.

[3] “BP: Statistical Review of World Energy”, Workbook (xlsx), London, 2013

[4] “Greater Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, Past, Present, Future; The Pioneer Oil Refiner.”

Original from the New York Public Library: The American Manufacturer and Iron World. 1901

[5] May, Gary. “Hard Oiler! The Story of Early Canadians' Quest for Oil at Home and Abroad.”

Dundurn Press, 1998, p. 59

[6] Humphrey, David C.: “The Handbook of Texas Online”. Retrieved Oct 26, 2009. Texas State

Historical Association

[7] "Responding to Crisis". Envhist. 26 April 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2012.

[8] Mabro, Robert; “Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries” (2006). Oil in the 21st

century: issues, challenges and opportunities. Oxford Press. p. 351. ISBN 0-19-920738-0,

9780199207381

[9] Fjaer, E. (2008). "Mechanics of hydraulic fracturing". Petroleum related rock mechanics.

Developments in petroleum science (2nd ed.). Elsevier. p. 369. ISBN 978-0-444-50260-5.

[10] The Modern Practices of Hydraulic Fracturing: A Focus on Canadian Resources (Report).

Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. Retrieved 2012-08-04.

[11] Charlez, Philippe A. (1997). Rock Mechanics: Petroleum Applications. Paris: Editions

Technip. p. 239. ISBN 9782710805861.

[12] "Fracking tests near Blackpool 'likely cause' of tremors". BBC News. 2 November 2011.

Retrieved 22 February 2012.

[13] “Freeing Up Energy. Hydraulic Fracturing: Unlocking America's Natural Gas Resources”

(PDF). American Petroleum Institute. 2010-07-19.

[14] “Well Completion Evolution.” Whiting. (PDF). Oil and Gas Investments. 2013

[15] Chilingar, George V.; Robertson, John O.; Kumar, Sanjay (1989). “Surface Operations in

Petroleum Production 2”. Elsevier. pp. 143–152. ISBN 9780444426772.

[16] “Propellant Simulation” Weatherford. PDF. 2013

[17] Brown, Valerie J. (February 2007). "Industry Issues: Putting the Heat on Gas".

Environmental Health Perspectives (US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)