Fracking

Michael D. Holloway has worked in industry for 35 years in research and development, technical marketing, equipment reliability and sales. He has written books on spend analysis, specification development, failure interpretation as well as process plant equipment operations, control, and reliability, the Dictionary of Industrial Terms and recently a bestseller on Hydraulic Fracturing. He holds a BS in chemistry, a BA in philosophy and a MS in engineering. Holloway is a Certified Lubrication Specialist (CLS), Oil Monitoring Analyst (OMA I) through Society of Tribology and Lubrication Engineers, a Level I Machinery Lubrication Technician (MLT I) and a Machinery Lubrication Analyst (MLA I) through International Council for Machinery Lubrication as well as an elected member of the Russian Academy of Natural Science.

• Preface xvAn Introduction to Hydraulic Fracturing xvii1 Environmental Impact – Reality and Myth and Nero Did Not Fiddle While Rome Burned 11.1 The Tower of Babel and How it Could be the Cause of Much of the Fracking Debate 22 Production Development 53 Fractures: Their Orientation and Length 113.1 Fracture Orientation 113.2 Fracture Length/ Height 134 Casing and Cementing 154.1 Blowouts 164.2 Surface Blowouts 174.3 Subsurface Blowouts 174.4 Horizontal Drilling 184.5 Fracturing and the Groundwater Debate 185 Pre-Drill Assessments 195.1 Basis of Design 216 Well Construction 236.1 Drilling 236.2 Completion 267 Well Operations 297.1 Well Plug and Abandonment “P&A” 307.2 Considerations 308 Failure and Contamination Reduction 438.1 Conduct Environmental Sampling Before and During Operations 438.2 Disclose the Chemicals Being Used in Fracking Operations 448.3 Ensure that Wellbore Casings are Properly Designed and Constructed 448.4 Eliminate Venting and Work Toward Green Completions 448.5 Prevent Flowback Spillage/Leaks 458.6 Dispose/Recycle Flowback Properly 458.7 Minimize Noise and Dust 458.8 Protect Workers and Drivers 468.9 Communicate and Engage 468.10 Record and Document 479 Frack Fluids and Composition 499.1 Uses and Needs for Frack Fluids 509.2 Common Fracturing Additives 509.3 Typical Percentages of Commonly Used Additives 539.4 Proppants 539.5 Silica Sand 559.6 Resin Coated Proppant 579.7 Manufactured Ceramics Proppants 589.8 Additional Types 589.9 Slickwater 5910 So Where Do the Frack Fluids Go? 6111 Common Objections to Drilling Operations 6311.1 Noise 6411.2 Changes in Landscape and Beauty of Surroundings 6511.3 Increased Traffic 6611.4 Subsurface Contamination of Ground Water 6711.5 Impacts on Water Wells 6711.6 Water Analysis 6711.7 Types of Methane and What They Show Us 7011.8 Biogenic 7111.9 Thermogenic 7111.10 Possible Causes of Methane in Water Wells 7111.11 Surface Water and Soil Impacts 7211.12 Spill Preparation and Documentation 7211.13 Other Surface Impacts 7311.14 Land Use Permitting 7311.15 Water Usage and Management 7411.16 Flowback Water 7411.17 Produced Water 7511.18 Flowback and Produced Water Management 7611.19 Geological Shifts 7611.20 Induced Seismic Event 7711.21 Wastewater Disposal Wells 7811.22 Site Remediation 7811.23 Regulatory Oversight 7811.24 Federal Level Oversight 7911.25 State Level Oversight 7911.26 Municipal Level Oversight 8011.27 Examples of Legislation and Regulations 8011.28 Frack Fluid Makeup Reporting 8111.29 FracFocus 8211.30 Atmospheric Emissions 8312 Air Emissions Controls 8512.1 Common Sources of Air Emissions 8712.2 Fugitive Air Emissions 8812.3 Silica Dust Exposure 8912.4 Stationary Sources 8912.5 The Clean Air Act 9012.6 Regulated Pollutants 9012.7 NAAQS Criteria Pollutants 9112.8 Attainment Versus Non-attainment 9112.9 Types of Federal Regulations 9212.10 MACT/NESHAP HAPs 9212.11 NSPS Regulations: 40 CFR Part 60 9212.12 NSPS Subpart OOOO 9312.13 Facilities/Activities Affected by NSPS OOOO 9312.14 Other Types of Federal NSPS and NESHAP/MACT Regulations 9512.15 NSPS Subpart IIII 9512.16 NSPS Subpart JJJJ 9512.17 NSPS Subpart KKK 9512.18 MACT Subpart HH and Subpart HHH 9512.19 MACT Subpart ZZZZ 9612.20 Construction and Operating New Source Review Permits 9612.21 Title V Permits 9613 Chemicals and Products on Locations 9913.1 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) 10213.2 Contents of an MSDS 10313.3 Product Identification 10413.4 Hazardous Ingredients of Mixtures 10413.5 Physical Data 10513.6 Fire and Explosion Hazard Data 10613.7 Health Hazard Data 10613.8 Emergency and First Aid Procedures 10713.9 Reactivity Data 10713.10 Spill, Leak, and Disposal Procedures 10713.11 Personal Protection Information 10813.12 HCS 2012 Safety Data Sheets (SDS) 11714 Public Perception, the Media, and the Facts 12314.1 Regulation or Policy Topics: Media Coverage and Public Perception 12815 Notes from the Field 13715.1 Going Forward 15016 Migration of Hydrocarbon Gases 15316.1 Introduction 15316.2 Geochemical Exploration for Petroleum 15416.3 Primary and Secondary Migration of Hydrocarbons 15716.3.1 Primary Gas Migration 15716.3.2 Secondary Gas Migration 15916.3.3 Gas Entrapment 15916.4 Origin of Migrating Hydrocarbon Gases 16116.4.1 Biogenic vs. Thermogenic Gas 16116.4.1.1 Sources of Migrating Gases 16116.4.1.2 Biogenic Methane 16216.4.1.3 Thermogenic Methane Gas 16516.4.2 Isotopic Values of Gases 16716.4.3 Nonhydrocarbon Gases 16816.4.4 Mixing of Gases 17016.4.5 Surface Gas Sampling 17216.4.6 Summary 17216.5 Driving Force of Gas Movement 17416.5.1 Density of a Hydrocarbon Gas under Pressure 17416.5.2 Sample Problem (Courtesy of Gulf Publishing Company) 17616.5.3 Other Methods of Computing Natural Gas Compressibility 17716.5.4 Density of Water 18116.5.5 Petrophysical Parameters Affecting Gas Migration 18316.5.6 Porosity, Void Ratio, and Density 18416.5.7 Permeability 18816.5.8 Free and Dissolved Gas in Fluid 18916.5.9 Quantity of Dissolved Gas in Water 19116.6 Types of Gas Migration 19216.6.1 Molecular Diffusion Mechanism 19316.6.2 Discontinuous-Phase Migration of Gas 19516.6.3 Minimum Height of Gas Column Necessary to Initiate Upward Gas Movement 19816.6.4 Buoyant Flow 19916.6.5 Sample Problem (Courtesy of Gulf Publishing Company) 20016.6.6 Gas Columns 20116.6.7 Sample Problem 2.2 (Courtesy of Gulf Publishing Company) 20316.6.8 Continuous-Phase Gas Migration 20416.7 Paths of Gas Migration Associated with Oilwells 20716.7.1 Natural Paths of Gas Migration 20916.7.2 Man-Made Paths of Gas Migration (boreholes) 21116.7.3 Creation of Induced Fractures during Drilling 21316.8 Wells Leaking Due to Cementing Failure 21716.8.1 Breakdown of Cement 21716.8.2 Cement Isolation Breakdown (Shrinkage—Circumferential Fractures) 21716.8.3 Improper Placement of Cement 22016.9 Environmental Hazards of Gas Migration 22216.9.1 Explosive Nature of Gas 22216.9.2 Toxicity of Hydrocarbon Gas 22416.10 Migration of Gas from Petroleum Wellbores 22716.10.1 Effect of Seismic Activity 22816.11 Case Histories of Gas Migration Problems 22816.11.1 Inglewood Oilfield, CA 23016.11.2 Los Angeles City Oilfield, CA 23116.11.2.1 Belmont High School Construction 23316.11.3 Montebello Oilfield, CA 23416.11.3.1 Montebello Underground Gas Storage 23416.11.4 Playa Del Rey Oilfield, CA 23516.11.4.1 Playa Del Rey underground Gas Storage 23516.11.5 Salt Lake Oilfield, CA 23816.11.5.1 Ross Dress for Less Department Store Explosion/Fire, Los Angeles, CA 23816.11.5.2 Gilmore Bank 24016.11.5.3 South Salt Lake Oilfield Gas Seeps from Gas Injection Project 24116.11.5.4 Wilshire and Curson Gas Seep, Los Angeles, CA, 1999 24116.11.6 Santa Fe Springs Oilfield, CA 24116.11.7 El Segundo Oilfield, CA 24416.11.8 Honor Rancho and Tapia Oilfields, CA 24416.11.9 Sylmar, CA — Tunnel Explosion 24416.11.10 Hutchinson, KS — Explosion and Fires 24716.11.11 Huntsman Gas Storage, NE 24716.11.12 Mont Belvieu Gas Storage Field, TX 24816.11.13 Leroy Gas Storage Facility, WY 24816.12 Conclusions 249References and Bibliography 25217 Subsidence as a Result of Gas/Oil/Water Production 26117.1 Introduction 26117.2 Theoretical Compaction Models 26417.3 Theoretical Modeling of Compaction 27017.3.1 Terzaghi’s Compaction Model 27217.3.2 Athy’s Compaction Model 27417.3.3 Hedberg’s Compaction Model 27517.3.4 Weller’s Compaction Model 27517.3.5 Teodorovich and Chernov’s Compaction Model 27617.3.6 Beall’s Compaction Model 27717.3.7 Katz and Ibrahim Compaction Model 27717.4 Subsidence Over Oilfields 27917.4.1 Rate of Subsidence 28117.4.2 Effect of Earthquakes on Subsidence 28217.4.3 Stress and Strain Distribution in Subsiding Areas 28317.4.4 Calculation of Subsidence in Oilfields 28617.4.5 Permeability Seals for Confined Aquifers 28917.4.6 Fissures Caused by Subsidence 29017.5 Case Studies of Subsidence over Hydrocarbon Reservoirs 29217.5.1 Los Angeles Basin, CA, Oilfields, Inglewood Oilfield, CA 29217.5.1.1 Baldwin Hills Dam Failure 29417.5.1.2 Proposed Housing Development 29717.5.2 Los Angeles City Oilfield, CA 29717.5.2.1 Belmont High School Construction 29717.5.3 Playa Del Rey Oilfield, CA 29917.5.3.1 Playa Del Rey Marina Subsidence 29917.5.4 Torrance Oilfield, CA 30117.5.5 Redondo Beach Marina Area, CA 30217.5.6 Salt Lake Oilfield, CA 30317.5.7 Santa Fe Springs Oilfield, CA 30517.5.8 Wilmington Oilfield, Long Beach, CA 30617.5.9 North Stavropol Oilfield, Russia 31817.5.10 Subsidence over Venezuelan Oilfields 32417.5.10.1 Subsidence in the Bolivar Coastal Oilfields of Venezuela 32517.5.10.2 Subsidence of Facilities 32817.5.11 Po-Veneto Plain, Italy 33517.5.11.1 Po Delta 33617.5.12 Subsidence Over the North Sea Ekofisk Oilfield 34317.5.12.1 Production 34517.5.12.2 Ekofisk Field Description 34617.5.12.3 Enhanced Oil Recovery Projects 34817.5.13 Platform Sinking 34817.6 Concluding Remarks 350References and Bibliography 35118 Effect of Emission of CO2 and CH4 into the Atmosphere 36118.1 Introduction 36118.2 Historic Geologic Evidence 36318.2.1 Historic Record of Earth’s Global Temperature 36318.2.2 Effect of Atmospheric Carbon Content on Global Temperature 36618.2.3 Sources of CO2 37018.3 Adiabatic Theory 37318.3.1 Modeling the Planet Earth 37318.3.2 Modeling the Planet Venus 37518.3.3 Anthropogenic Carbon Effect on the Earth’s Global Temperature 38018.3.4 Methane Gas Emissions 38318.3.5 Monitoring of Methane Gas Emissions 385References 38519 Fracking in the USA 389Appendix A: Chemicals Used in Fracking 729Appendix B: State Agency Web Addresses 907Bibliography: 911Index 913