America has abundant natural resources and recent innovations combined with horizontal drilling in shale formations has unlocked vast new supplies of natural gas, allowing the nation to get to the energy it needs today, and transforming our energy future.
The process of bringing a well to completion is generally short-lived, taking a few months for a single well, after which the well can be in production for 20 to 40 years. The process for a single horizontal well typically includes four to eight weeks to prepare the site for drilling, four or five weeks of rig work, including casing and cementing and moving all associated auxiliary equipment off the well site before fracking operations commence, and two to five days for the entire multi-stage fracturing operation.
An abundant domestic natural gas, shale gas is extracted from shale rock formations, or plays, located deep below the earth’s surface.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a proven drilling method for extracting oil and natural gas from shale rock formations located deep beneath the earth’s surface.
In hydraulic fracturing, high-pressure fluids are pumped into underground rock formations to create fissures through which trapped oil and gas escapes so it can be collected.
After just two to five days of hydraulic fracturing, a well can supply oil or natural gas for 20 to 40 years.
Fracking fluids are 99.5% water and sand. In addition, chemicals are used to increase pump efficiency, inhibit bacterial growth and prevent corrosion.