New Shale Formation Being Drilled in Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia
Monday, July 22, 2013
According to the Intelligencer Wheeling News-Register, CONSOL Energy has become the third company to extract natural gas from the Upper Devonian shale, a formation that lies just above the Marcellus shale in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
The other companies that explored and extracted natural gas from the Devonian are Rex Energy and Range Resources.
This isn’t the first time the Devonian shale has been the target of drillers.
Read it:
“The Devonian Shale was the target of a lot of drilling activity back in the late 1970s and the 1980s,” added Robert W. Chase, professor of petroleum engineering and geology at Marietta College. “It produced both oil and gas, but was not as prolific as the Marcellus or Utica because it was not very deep and didn’t have as much pressure as the deeper formations.”
» Via: The Intelligencer › Consol Digs Deeper
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Shale FAQ
What is fracking?
Fracking is a slang term for hydraulic fracturing. Fracturing is a process by which highly pressurized fluid is pumped thousands of feet into the ground to fracture rock formations. The goal is to release the natural gas that’s locked inside the rock.
Is it safe?
What most concerns people about fracturing is ground water contamination. The worry is that fractures underground, caused by the process, will extending upwards and into aquifers, releasing gas and chemicals into the ground water supply. There’s been no confirmed reports of such a thing happening. Though surface spills and drill site blowouts can lead to localized environmental concerns.
Will my water catch on fire?
Flammable water is caused by the release of methane gas into a drinking water supply. Methane gas occurs naturally and can be released by any kind of drilling, including water wells. In Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy $1 million for contaminating ground water with methane. It was determined that the company had not properly cemented it’s boreholes and gas migrated up the well, between rock and into aquifers.