When will shale drillers pick up drilling again?
Friday, May 20, 2016
As is well known by now, low commodity prices that have driven the drilling slowdown are persisting, but companies are determining how and when to pick up the pace, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette PowerSource reports.
If companies pick up drilling too quickly, the commodity curve could be thrown off. Executives area drilling firms have varying strategies for the future.
The source reports that even though 60 percent of the rigs in the Utica and Marcellus shales were laid down in 2015, the region had been increasing its production because of the number of wells that had previously drilled but not completed.
Read more: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette PowerSource > Oil and gas firms consider when and how quickly to bring rigs on the ground
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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.