Print this page Hydraulic Fracturing - A Comprehensive & Balanced Review
H. Wayne Harper, PE
Course Outline
This eight hour course provides an overview of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas extraction in a non-judgmental and balanced approach. Specifically, the comprehensive data and research on hydraulic fracturing contained herein has been grouped and presented in the following categories:
Current Hydraulic Fracturing Practices
- Favorable documentation
- Neutral documentation
- Non-favorable documentation
Future Hydraulic Fracturing Practices
- “Water-Free” Fracking
This course includes
a multiple choice quiz at the end,
Learning Objective
At the conclusion of this course, the student will:
- Understand the overall hydraulic fracturing process for natural gas and oil extraction;
- Understand that natural gas extraction utilizing hydraulic fracturing is an extremely controversial topic;
- Be familiar with the properties and locations of petroleum bearing geologic “tight” formations, such as shale;
- Be knowledgeable of the history and recent developments in hydraulic fracturing;
- Realize that hydraulic fracturing has greatly increased the supply of natural gas in the United States;
- Understand the typical characteristics of hydraulic fractures such as, orientation and length / height;
- Be familiar with well construction mitigation measures utilized to protect drinking water aquifers such as, nested steel well casings and cement sealants;
- Be knowledgeable of typical groundwater and aquifer properties;
- Be aware of the common myths and misconceptions associated with groundwater and drinking water aquifers;
- Be aware of the water consumption requirements per well for hydraulic fracturing;
- Understand hydraulic fracturing fluid management techniques related to generation, handling, storage, recycling, and deposition;
- Realize why chemical additives are utilized in hydraulic fracturing fluids;
- Be knowledgeable of the typical relative ratio of chemical additives to water in hydraulic fracturing fluids;
- Be familiar with the general types of chemical additives utilized in hydraulic fracturing fluids;
- Be aware of the current policies and practices related to the public disclosure of chemical additive information;
- Understand the current research being conducted / sponsored by the United States Environmental Protection Agency related to potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing;
- Be aware of the common “propaganda” purported by opponents of the natural gas industry through media such as the “Gasland” and “Gasland II” movies;
- Be aware of the common “propaganda” purported by supporters of the natural gas industry through media such as the “Truthland” movie;
- Realize the economic impact that hydraulic fracturing has had in the United States;
- Be knowledgeable of the regulatory framework related to hydraulic fracturing (Federal, state, and local);
- Understand the relationship between hydraulic fracturing frequency and seismic activity (earthquakes);
- Be familiar with the potential environmental impacts of hydraulic fracturing to resources such as, groundwater, surface water, soil contamination, and air quality;
- Be familiar with the potential health impacts associated with prolonged exposure to hydraulic fracturing activities;
- Be knowledgeable of the oil and gas industry’s exclusions and exemptions to major environmental statutes;
- Realize the “Tips for Landowners” for those living in close proximity to hydraulic fracturing sites;
- Be aware of the current political / legislative activities related to hydraulic fracturing;
- Be aware of various investigative journalist articles not typically reported in the mainstream media; and
- Be familiar with the “future” trend in hydraulic fracturing – waterless.
Intended Audience
This course is intended for citizens, landowners, as well as, petroleum, mechanical, civil, and environmental engineers.
Benefit to Attendees
Attendees of this course will understand how hydraulic fracturing functions, its benefits for the natural gas industry, and its potential impacts to the environment.
Course Introduction
Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer by a pressurized fluid. Some hydraulic fractures form naturally—certain veins or dikes are examples—and can create conduits along which gas and petroleum from source rocks may migrate to reservoir rocks. Induced hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracturing, commonly known as fracing, fraccing, or fracking, is a technique used to release petroleum, natural gas (including shale gas, tight gas, and coal seam gas), or other substances for extraction. This type of fracturing creates fractures from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations.
The first use of hydraulic fracturing was in 1947. However, it was only in 1998 that modern fracturing technology, referred to as horizontal slickwater fracturing, made possible the economical extraction of shale gas; this new technology was first used in the Barnett Shale in Texas. The energy from the injection of a highly pressurized hydraulic fracturing fluid creates new channels in the rock, which can increase the extraction rates and ultimate recovery of hydrocarbons.
Course Content
In this lesson, you are required to download and study the following course content in PDF format:
Hydraulic Fracturing - A Comprehensive & Balanced Review
Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.
Course Summary
Hydraulic fracturing as a technology / methodology to extract gas and oil is here to stay. After processing the various viewpoints related to hydraulic fracturing, the intent of this course is to provoke you to ask; is it good, bad, or otherwise?
Related Links
The United States Department of Energy via http://www.energy.gov/
The Chemical Disclosure Registry via http://fracfocus.com/
The “Truthland Movie” via http://www.truthlandmovie.com/
The “United States Environmental Protection Agency” via http://www2.epa.gov/hfstudy
Earthworks via http://www.earthworksaction.com/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing#.VCNvevldWAg
The “Gasland Movie” via http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/
ProPublica viahttp://www.propublica.com/series/fracking
Goggle search “waterless fracturing” (2014-09-24) via https://www.google.com/webhp?hl=en&tab=nw&gws_rd=ssl#hl=en&q=waterless+fracturing&spell=1
Quiz
Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.
DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.
