Hydraulic fracturing is the process of drilling for natural gas and oil underneath the ground. Water mixed with other components is pumped into the ground to create cracks (also referred to as fissures or fractures) to release the gas into wells that have been built for collection.
Groundwater protection remains a
main goal and paramount to the success of and well operation. The well’s
design, the casing, and the inherent risk associated with the hydraulic fracturing
process itself all factor into new shale gas well development. Over the years,
this technology has been used safely and successfully in over one million
wells. Regulators together with operators have mitigated many of environmental
risks. Shale gas, or natural gas, producers most often will leave a small
wellhead behind on the property along with several storage tanks, and a
metering system to measure shale gas production.
Schematic description of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas. (Wikipedia)
METHOD
A hydraulic fracture is formed by pumping the fracturing fluid
into the wellbore at a rate sufficient to increase pressure
downhole at the target zone (determined by the location of the well casing
perforations) to exceed that of the fracture gradient (pressure gradient) of
the rock.