I have posted on this topic before, but today we have here an
excellent update that now describes experience based on over a
thousand wells. It has obviously becomes the method of choice for a
few customers.
With propane gel we have all the effectiveness of hydro fracking
along with some serious benefits.
1 We do not inject water into the formation at all. Since plenty of
rock will react to the water and change in unwelcome ways and water
is not soluble in oil, it is inevitable that the introduced water
will affect the oil flow in the reservoir in negative ways as well as
positive ways. Water is not really your natural first choice except
that we know so much about it and have ample experience.
2 The propane escapes back up the well and in the process discards
treatment chemicals that need to stay down hole anyway. Thus the
fracking media is fully recovered and potentially recycled if
desirable.
3 The other big plus that is subtle is that the propane will
initially dissolve directly into the oil itself lowering its
viscosity and even providing somewhat of a gas drive to move the oil.
Thus it is reasonable that we see superior production throughput.
And as noted here, that is exactly the operator experience.
With the massive anti fracking publicity nipping at the heels of the
industry, I suspect that this propane gel treatment will become the
industry standard rather quickly and everyone will be a lot happier.
The industry really does not need the expensive mess.
Waterless Natural
Gas Fracking Method Unveiled
Resource Investing
News | May 9, 2012, 6:45 AM
By Adam Currie
— Exclusive to Gas Investing News
Following a stream of
dire headlines about plummeting natural gas prices, explorers
and producers are finally beginning to shift their attention to
advancements on the production side – more specifically, to a new
natural gas extraction method.
A planned shale gas
drilling project in New York state has drawn global attention for its
aim to make use of a waterless form of hydraulic fracking – a new
technique designed to reduce the pollution associated with
controversial natural gas drilling processes.
Propane replaces water
and chemicals
According to an
industry report, the project is focused on using a technology that
pumps a thick gel made from propane into the ground as
opposed to using traditional methods of hydraulic fracking that make
use of a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals to extract natural gas
reserves from deep shale formations. Unlike traditional technologies,
the gel from the new liquefied propane gas (LPG) fracking method
reverts to vapor while still underground, and as a result returns to
the surface in a recoverable form.
According to its
developer, Calgary-based GASFRAC Energy Services (TSX:GFS),
the gel also holds advantages over water-based methods in that it
does not carry the chemicals used during the drilling process back to
the surface.
This process is
significant in that if proven effective, it could
potentially allow for the extraction of shale gas
and oil from 135,000 acres in Tioga County, New York,
breaking through the state’s current hydraulic fracking moratorium.
The moratorium was imposed in 2010 after environmentalists
expressed concerns that the drilling process could pose a threat to
regional water supplies.
Additional assessment
required
As a relatively new
technology, LPG fracking does not yet fall under the state’s
moratorium, but could be permitted under the New York Department
of Environmental Conservation‘s (DEC) 1992 Supplemental Generic
Environmental Impact Statement, according to Emily DeSantis, the
DEC’s director of public information. She added that LPG fracking
would also require assessment under the state’s Environmental
Quality Review Act, or even a separate environmental impact statement
“if the proposed activity may result in significant adverse
environmental impacts not previously or adequately addressed.”
GASFRAC first
used the patented process in a commercial setting four years ago
and has since fracked over 1,300 wells in Canada and the US. The
method was originally designed to improve the performance of
low-pressure wells and has impressed those within the environmental
arena.
“That has been the
real surprise for us, an extra advantage,” said Doug McMillan, Vice
President of GASFRAC. “In areas of drought-stricken Texas, water is
impounded and sold for traditional fracking,” he continued. “And
in the eastern US, there are concerns about water disposal and
population density, but we can work there and are even going to be in
New York.”
Increases oil and gas
flow
According to
a report by The Vancouver Sun, while GASFRAC charges a 50
percent premium in comparison to traditional fracking companies,
there can be significant savings in water use, truck traffic, and
easier site cleanups. Apart from logistical gains, the article also
referred to the rise in well production as “spectacular.” Reports
from the Cardium formation, which is west of Edmonton, displayed that
LPG fracking results are “two to three times better” at
increasing the flow of oil and gas in comparison to traditional
methods.
This sentiment was
echoed when San Antonio-based BlackBrush Oil & Gas announced
a two-year contract with GASFRAC in the oil-rich Eagle Ford shale in
Texas. BlackBrush’s co-CEO commented in a press release that
using LPG brought “oil production at a sustainable rate weeks
earlier than with the standard water frac and we are seeing huge
savings on disposal of frac fluids.”
While the New York
moratorium will not be lifted until a new Supplemental Generic
Environmental Impact Statement is complete, the Tioga County
Landowners Group has announced to lease 135,000 acres
to eCORP International, with the LPG fracking process making up
one of the deal’s stipulations.
“Game-changing
technology”
“We believe this
game-changing technology will be embraced by, not only regulators and
the industry, but the general population as well,” eCORP CEO John
Thrash said in a press release.
“We believe that
propane/butane gel could very well become the shale ‘treatment of
choice’ in all countries because of its many technical and
environmental benefits relative to large volume ‘slick’ water
fracking techniques,” Mark Stauss, a senior director at eCORP,
told InsideClimate News.
It is not only junior
companies that are making use of the new method. Last
year, Chevron (NYSE:CVX) used LPG to frack several natural
gas wells in the Piceance Basin in Northwestern Colorado. In its
annual report it noted that the technology “significantly increases
production while minimizing water usage.”
Despite the positive
spin being thrust upon this new extraction method, there has been
opposition from environmental organizations. Fifteen groups,
including the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources
Defense Council, sent a letter to the New York DEC in early April,
urging the agency to perform an environmental impact statement prior
to permitting LPG wells, and describing LPG as a technology with
“alarming” known and unknown risks.
Deb Nardone, from the
Sierra Club, said that given the risk of explosions, “it is clear
that propane fracking just substitutes one set of problems for
another set of even more dangerous problems.”
Despite requests for
further analysis from groups such as these, it does seem that this
technology could be a significant step forward for the gas
exploration and production community in terms of trying to find
cleaner methods of extraction.
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