2. What Is Hydraulic Fracturing ?
• Hydraulic Fracturing is the use of fluids and
material to create or restore small fractures in
rock in order to stimulate production from
new and existing oil and gas wells.
• Wells are primarily vertical. 2,000-10,000 ft.
deep, with some much deeper.
• Fracking occurs horizontally at the bottom of
the well.
3. How Does It Work ?
• Most permeable rocks (shales) are found from
just below the surface, to as far as tens of
thousands of feet in depth.
• Shales often hold large quantities of oils and
natural gas
4. How Does It Work ?
• After a hole (Wellbore) is drilled, a solution
composed of 98-99.5% water and sand is
pumped into the cavity
• With enough Pressure, surrounding rock
material begins to crack or “fracture”
5. How Does It Work ?
• Water-Sand solution provides many things:
- Pressure for fracture
- Proppant (Supports)
- Friction Reducers (50-60%)
- Anti-Bacteria
- Anti-Iron/Carbonates
6. How Does It Work ?
• Once water is removed, gas collects easily in
each fractured zone.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ned5L04
o8w&feature=related
7. Where Is “Fracking” Being Used ?
• Australia
• France
• Canada
• Great Britain
• New Zealand
• South Africa
• Oklahoma, Texas, Wyoming, Colorado, New
Mexico, Louisiana, Arkansas, California, and in the
Northeast.
9. Benefits
• Primarily Economic
– Restores older wells
– Increases rate of extraction
– Taps into shales
– Increase in jobs locally
– Provides low-cost heating for natural gas users
– Provides low cost electricity
10. Potential Consequences ?
• Many potential health concerns
– Contamination of ground water
– Local air quality
– Carcinogens & toxins (methanoyl, benzene, lead,
boric acid).
• Environmental
– Use of fresh water
– Injecting chemicals into the ground
13. Fracturing and Earthquakes
• Rock Fracturing does NOT cause quakes
• Millions of water solutions, both fresh or
waste water, cause quakes
• Water pushes rocks apart, causing rocks to
move past one another
• Dry sand vs saturated sand
16. Recent Earthquakes
• Oklahoma, 11/5/2011
• Magnitude 5.6, with 30 or more weaker
aftershocks
• 1952, 5.5 magnitude
• Increase in fracking near an inactive geologic
fault line
17. Recent Earthquakes
• Mineral, Va, 8/24/2011
• Magnitude 5.8
• So rare, that geologists estimate only 6 more
similar events in the next 10,000 years.
• Near 3 inactive faults.
18. Recent Earthquakes
• Arkansas, August-October 2011
• Sometimes up to 20 small tremors in one day!
• Increase in tremors since September 2010,
when 4 new wells began hydraulic fracturing.
19. Recent Earthquakes
• United Kingdom, April/May 2011
• Two separate 2.3 magnitude earthquakes
• Occurred 2km below the surface.
• "Most likely, the repeated seismicity was
induced by direct injection of fluid into the
fault zone.“ - Geomechanical Study of Bowland
Shale Seismicity
21. Is There A Connection ?
• There is an increasing correlation between
minor earthquakes and fracking
• Fracturing has reactivated or created more
activity at some faults (Arkansas)
• Hard to explain larger earthquakes
(Oklahoma)
22. Is There A Connection ?
• Arkansas tremors dropped by 2/3’s once
Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission banned
fracking in the area.
• West Virginia saw a massive reduction in quakes
after it’s commission called for reduced salt-
water injection into bedrock.
• In Dallas/Ft. Worth, SMU recorded quakes
immediately after fracking began in 2008, and
stopped recording quakes after fracking stopped
in 2009.
23. What Do YOU think ?
• France has already banned hydraulic
Fracturing
• South Africa/Australia have prevented the
creating of new fracking wells, but have kept
older wells active.
• If minor earthquakes are caused by fracking,
should it be allowed ? Even with the jobs and
resources the process provides ?
