Home http://www.statejournal.com/index.cfm > Newshttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=showstories&catid=182 [image: Print this story]http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85781&printview=1&printview=1 [image: RSS] http://feeds.feedburner.com/StateJournalFeaturedContent [image: Print this Page] *Print this Page* [Back to Site View]http://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85781& *A Frack Job Explained * Posted Thursday, September 9, 2010 ; 06:00 AM | View Commentshttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85781&printview=1#comments| Post Commenthttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85781&printview=1#commentsForm Updated Wednesday, September 8, 2010; 05:31 PM
Hydraulic Fracturing — Surface Equipment Photo Credit: Illustrations courtesy of Chesapeake Energy Corp. *Company details the steps it takes to recover natural gas. *
By Pam Kasey Email pkasey@statejournal.com | Biohttp://www.statejournal.com/bios.cfm?func=viewbio&bioid=63| Other Stories by Pam Kaseyhttp://www.statejournal.com/bios.cfm?func=viewstories&bioid=63
It's going on all around and beneath us: hydraulic fracturing to release the natural gas trapped a mile down in the Marcellus Shale.
No one knows how many wells are being "fracked" in the state at any one time. With permits in the Marcellus numbering several hundred each year, according to the state Department of Environmental Protection, it's at least a few.
But how, exactly, does it work?
In mid-August, Chesapeake Appalachia took The State Journal to a Marshall County frack job and explained what its crews were doing.
As a brief reminder of terms seen often in the media these days, hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of blasting water laced with sand and chemicals into a rock formation to create cracks and release the trapped hydrocarbons.
The chemicals make the water thicker, to hold the sand in suspension, and slicker, to speed everything through the pipe, while the sand lodges in the cracks and holds them open.
Fracking a well, West Virginians have come to understand, takes lots of water. How much depends on the characteristics of the rock formation and the length of the well bore, but 3 million gallons seems to be a lower bound.
For its concentrated Wetzel and Marshall county operations, Chesapeake was drawing water from Fish Creek, according to Completion Superintendent Zack Arnold, whose territory includes Wetzel, Marshall and Upshur counties, as well as southwestern Pennsylvania.
But as this dry summer stretched on, the company instead established a water line from the Ohio River to two fresh-water impoundments. That came online in early August.
An impoundment holds 80,000 to 100,000 barrels, according to Arnold -- 3.3 million to 4.2 million gallons.
*Anatomy of a Frack Job*
On Aug. 19 at Chesapeake's Waryck site in Marshall County, the company and its vendors were fracking three well bores that extended in different directions from the same point on the surface and were just finishing the first stage mid-day.
A video Chesapeake played before the trip explained that drillers create well bores by first drilling down through and beyond the fresh-water zone and casing that length in cement. They then continue drilling down to about 500 feet above the Marcellus layer.
Drillers then angle gradually until they're drilling horizontally within the Marcellus layer, out to 4,000 feet and more -- in each of three directions, in this instance.
They case the horizontal sections, or "laterals," in cement and are ready to frack.
Fracking begins with perforation, Arnold explained.
Operators sent a perforation gun on a 20,000-foot electric line to the end of a lateral and fired it to make holes through the casing and into the surrounding rock. When the farthest sections of all three laterals were "perfed," the perf gun was pulled out.
Meanwhile, at the surface, operators mixed water, sand and chemicals in a "blender."
Pumps blasted the mixed fracking fluid down through the well bores, one at a time, out through the perforations and into the shale.
Those first stages would then be plugged, and second stages -- the next-nearest sections as measured by the length of the perf gun -- could be perfed and fracked.
When all stages were finally fracked -- 10 to 12 stages is the current industry standard, Arnold said -- the plugs would be drilled through and fracking fluid, now under pressure in the shale, would come back to the surface as "flowback."
Several hundred thousand gallons of flowback for each well would give way progressively over a period of one to two weeks to gas, and the wells would then be producing.
*Flowback*
Chesapeake's current process is to recycle flowback by hauling it to the next site, filtering it and cutting the remaining brine with fresh water.
Although Arnold did not want to say how much water it takes to frack a well, he agreed with a range of 3 million to something less than 10 million gallons.
Although he also did not want to say how much of that returns as flowback, he did say it's a small enough percentage that, when filtered and cut with fresh water, it is not too salty to fracture the next well.
*Containment*
The surface operation involves careful fluid management.
Chesapeake's best management practices -- more stringent, Arnold stressed, than those required by the state -- include what he described as three levels of containment.
Primary containment is everything after the blender, he said -- all the pipes that carry the fracking fluid.
For secondary containment, every part of the operation that holds liquid, fresh water as well as pre- and post-frack fluid, rests on a layer of heavy-duty, textured 60-mil plastic.
And tertiary containment involves constructed berms running around particular sections of the operation and around the entire pad.
Fluid spilled from anywhere will be contained on the plastic, and the expectation is that operators will be able to pump it up before it tops a berm.
One Chesapeake crew has no other duty than to check for good practices, making rounds at each active site about once a week; in addition, an on-site crew from an outside vendor spends its time checking the berm and plastic for holes.
The state requires spills that leave containment to be reported, but Chesapeake reports every spill even if it stays within containment, Arnold said. *Copyright 2010 West Virginia Media. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.* Most Popular Stories on STATEJOURNAL.com Most Discussed Stories on STATEJOURNAL.com 1. Committee Reveals Possible Route 35 Toll Planhttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85881 2. 3 W.Va. Schools Receive National Honorhttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85879 3. Allegheny, FirstEnergy Merger Gets Approval from Virginiahttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85877 4. The Greenbrier Resort Will Once Again Offer Discounted Packageshttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85874 5. Maier Acquires Historic C&O Railroad Station in Charlestonhttp://www.statejournal.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=85883 1. 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Which means the trucks will never stop, the land will never have a chance to heal and we will be constantly fearful of contamination. Then to even get better it states that after the Marcellus is dried up, they'll start drilling the Utica Shale which is even deeper. This is not a one time thing to live through. [image: User Comment] *gashound* 9/11/10 at 11:47 AM Report Abuse The number not willing to sign is very small. All you need to do is to take a trip to the courthouse and see for yourself how many have already signed. You will be shocked. [image: User Comment] *marilyn k hunt* 9/11/10 at 11:08 AM Report Abuse Many people who own mineral rights are saying no to contamination and drilling on their property. why? because it is immoral to do something evil for money and real Americans do not sell out their country to Chinese investment banks. our system of government and investment is competing in an economic war with countries which basically just print money with no reserves. how does it feel to know that the Marcellus Shale assets are being sold to foreign countries..Soon you will not have to dig too deep to get to China. Congress is beginning a new roud of hearings into this horrible exploitation of our countries resources...collaborators must be brought to trial for destroying lives and property. They have lied about who they are and what they are doing. [image: User Comment] *gashound* 9/10/10 at 10:07 PM Report Abuse For or against drilling, we all should agree on at least one thing, Senate Bill 617 should be shot down ! Why? If you own an undivided interest in minerals and are looking to sign a lease, this Bill will allow companies to drill, even if only one of the undivided interest owners have signed a lease. Chances are, this signed owner has signed a lease with no protections for the land ! This means any of the remaining unsigned owners will fall under the terms of this lease, along with not being able to negotiate any bonus or royalty. This will cost the state millions !!! Now, if you are against drilling, you need to understand that drilling is happening and will continue to happen. So, if you can't stop it, you need to do what you can to make it as environmentaly friendly as possible. If senate Bill 617 passes, this will allow drilling companies to proceed base on the many, many poorly negotiated leases that have no protections added into them. Without the Bill passing, the remaing owners will be able to add protections into thier lease and the compainies will have to abide by the terms of these leases. All it takes is one owner to have the protections in his or her lease and it will override all other leases !!! So everyone needs to contact their Senate Members and tell them to KILL BILL 617. I hope each and everyone of you understand the importance of stopping Bill 617. Thank You All, gashound [image: User Comment] *do what?* 9/10/10 at 5:32 PM Report Abuse ISN'T A FRACK JOB WHAT LT NORRIS WAS GETTING FROM THAT UNDERAGE GIRL IN A GOV CAR? [image: User Comment] *concerned* 9/10/10 at 10:56 AM Report Abuse To whom thinks fracking is a good idea please watch the documentary Gasland it was on hbo but go to youtube and search Gasland you will change your mind about this drilling or fracking in your backyard. people are getting cancer, brain tumors,animals are dying all the water is contaminated the water stinks, bubbles and YES you can light tap water out of the spicket on fire please look you have nothing to lose but everything to gain from educating yourself on this fracking im just a guy concerned for all of us are kids and grandkids. Thank You Brian for trying to educate these people on fracking everything you said is absalutly true [image: User Comment] *Uncle Sam* 9/10/10 at 3:28 AM Report Abuse Brian, you don't have mineral rights leased to Chesapeake do you? The protesters are jealous neighbors of mineral rights owners. There's an opportunity for many West Virginians to become wealthy and some who will not profit from the Marcellus Shale want to stand in the way. The protesters are jealous people. [image: User Comment] *gashound* 9/9/10 at 8:56 PM Report Abuse Brian, if you feel this way about drilling and fracking then why are you doing it ? Something is wrong with this picture !!! [image: User Comment] *Brian* 9/9/10 at 1:25 PM Report Abuse ive worked with chesapeake in marshall co pumping water and working flowback. they store the water in 500 barrel frac tanks (~45 gal per barrel). ive seen jobs that take as many as 80 of these tanks, all filled with fresh water that was pumped from local steams and creeks.
they mix chemicals with the fresh water and send it down-hole. after frac'ing is complete, they flow it back.
from the jobs id been on, id estimate that only about 5-10% of the chemical-laced water ever comes back up from the well. the rest of it just sets in the ground and leaches into the formations.
the residual water is a concern because studies show that it can, and does leach into the water table deep in the ground.
do some googling about water contamination and horizontal drilling. many years ago in texas and oklahoma, farmers were having their livestock die off after drinking contaminated water. another common result from these practices is 'fire water' (not the liquor). people can run water from their sink into a jar, then light the water on fire. it burns due to leeched natural gas and methane. there are also concerns over higher levels of heavy metals in the effected water tables. for many years leading up to 2005, horizontal drilling was federally banned due to these concerns. but wouldnt you know it, bush/cheney rammed through the energy act of 2005, which made it legal for this to go on again.
but anyway, 10% TOPS return on flowback. the rest sets underground and leeches. dont buy the BS that they dont know the effects of what they are doing either. it was previously banned for a reason. ------------------------------ *Post Your Comments* * All fields are Required * Name: Email: A valid email address is required to allow State Journal to monitor comments and track users posting inappropriate comments. State Journal does not use these for any type of SPAM operation. Comments: Security Code: Enter the code exactly as you see it above.
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