Companies try new techniques to save money on oil production
Friday, September 18, 2015
According to The Wall Street Journal, oil companies are desperate for ways to stay afloat while prices remain at around $50 a barrel. The easiest way to do that is to produce the most oil for as little money as possible.
To accomplish that, producers are looking for innovative techniques that will make production efficient as well as cost effective. Producers are using lasers or other technology and data analytics to assess well production. Software and sensors are being used to determine how much sand, water and chemicals should be used for each well to maximize the well’s production.
Refracking, the process of restimulating a well after its initial production, is one technique that producers are trying, but results haven’t been made public. Refracking uses the most up-to-date fracking techniques on wells that were fracked with less advanced technology.
Via: The Wall Street Journal > Oil Companies Tap New Technologies to Lower Production Costs
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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.