Hydraulic Fracturing 101

When it comes to retrieving underground resources with the likes of natural gas, water, geothermal energy, and oil, one process that is commonly used is what you call hydraulic fracturing. The gas and oil industries make sure to use to their advantage the process of hydraulic fracturing. They use this process to be able to increase the subsurface that you can find among fracture systems. This is crucial so that the natural gas and oil will not be having a hard time going to the production wells as they flow from the rock pores. The oil and gas will be able to rise up the surface with the help of these wells.

The creation of wells or other local structures is the beginning of the process of hydraulic fracturing. Drilling in vertical or directional/horizontal sections is what is usually being done among these product wells. Most of the time, the assembled well sections will then be drilled beneath the surface of the earth about thousands of feet away. And between 1000 and 6000 inches, the horizontal sections well be extended far from the production well.

Using high pressure in the hydraulic fracturing process, fluids will then be pushed going to the geologic structure. What these fluids contain are a mixture of water and some chemical additives. The hydraulic fracturing process thus requires thousands of gallons of such fluids. With the help of the high pressure that is applied, the rock fractures will then become weaker as they can while they will also become bigger with the help of the chemical fluids pushed towards them. All this and more can be done during hydraulic fracturing that will reach even several thousands of feet and much longer distances.

When the choice of fracture is achieved, there will be a particular propping chemical that will be pushed into the faults. Before pumping more fluids, this process should be done so that these fractures that have been opened will just remain opened. The fracturing fluids going up happens at the end of the hydraulic fracturing process where the cause for this is the internal pressure from the structure. These fluids must first be collected in tanks and pits before they will be disposed or recycled.

The term flowback is what you call the fracturing fluid that was collected yet again. Disposal of flowback could be done either by discharging it into the surface of the water or disposing it through underground injection. When this is done wrong, then there are more chances that it can be a threat to the environment and other surrounding life forms.

It is thus the responsibility of the company to be sure that they get the right frac units available. You have to choose your hydraulic fracturing equipment and tools carefully so that you can make the most out of it and get more benefits than the risks involved in not getting the process right or choosing the wrong company for the hydraulic fracturing equipment. 

You can get additional details by checking out this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing_proppants