natural gas has enormous potential as a versatile energy source
well it's had a history of power electric generators and heating stove
tops
it's growing in use as an efficient fuel that also powers cars and trucks
but what exactly is natural gas
natural gas is a naturally occurring chemical primarily made up of methane
ch4 its purity makes it an environmentally friendly fuel methane
does not leave a residue and burn so its emissions do not react with sunlight to
create smog the natural gas we use today began as microscopic plants and animals
living in the ocean tens of millions of years ago as they thrive they absorb
energy from the Sun which was stored as carbon molecules in their bodies when
they died they sank to the bottom of the sea and were covered by layer after
layer of sediment as these plants and animals became buried deeper in the
earth over millions of years
heat and pressure began to rise the amount of pressure and degree of heat
transformed the bio matter into natural gas
ok
after natural gas was formed
attended to migrate upward through tiny pores and cracks in the surrounding Rock
some natural gas seat to the surface while other deposits traveled upward
until they were trapped under impermeable layers of rock such as shale
or clay these trap deposits are where we find natural gas today in 1859 Edwin
Drake drilled the first commercial well in titusville pennsylvania striking
natural gas and oil
this is considered by many to be the beginning of the natural gas industry
for most of the eighteen hundreds natural gas was used almost exclusively
as a fuel for lamps because no pipeline network existed to transport large
amounts of gas over long distances
most of the gas was used to like local city streets
it was moved through small bore lead pipe then in 80 85
robert bunsen invented a burner that mix air with natural gas
the Bunsen burner showed how gas could provide heat for cooking and warming
buildings after the eighteen nineties many cities began converting their
street lamps to electricity coursing gas producers to look for new markets but
the lack of mobility to transport gas to consumers was still an issue in the
energy industry natural gas was originally obtained as a by-product from
oil production
since it was viewed as too costly to produce much of it was burned off by
flaring at the wellhead improvements in metals welding techniques and pipe
making during world war two open natural gas to new markets
thanks to pipeline networks throughout the 1950s and 1960s thousands of miles
of pipeline were constructed throughout the United States although natural gas
was becoming economically attractive with a growing pipeline network
crude oil was still far more popular and more widely used as a source of energy
for years
the industry perception remain that supplies of natural gas were limited
although natural gas had been discovered in tight rock formations called shale it
was deemed too expensive and difficult to harness
yeah
with advances in drilling technology new solutions emerged that solve these
issues
horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing commonly referred to as
fracking were introduced as innovative techniques to reach shale deposits and
harvest Natural Gas originally pioneer to the nineteen forties and refined in
the nineteen seventies these processes have revolutionized the industry
after the well site has been carefully prepared to meet environmental health
and safety standards
drilling can begin this is an intricate operation requiring a well planned
infrastructure a variety of processes and expert
well trained specialists are used to bring natural gas to the surface
chesapeake works with these experts during every aspect of the project while
strictly adhering to all individual state regulations
during the drilling process the rig is in constant operation 24 hours a day
seven days a week for approximately 21 to 28 days as an added precaution in
some areas a protective mad covers two thirds of the pad site
utilizing heavy-duty industrial strength drill bits a typical well is drilled in
several stages starting with a large diameter drill bit and then successively
smaller drill bits as the drawing is advanced
after drawing each portion of the well nested steel protective casing is
cemented into place
this will protect groundwater and maintain the integrity of the well
initially and prior to moving in the drilling rig a large diameter holes
drilled for the first 50 to 80 feet conductor casing is then cemented into
place
stabilizing the ground around the drilling rig and well head and isolating
the well from most private water wells in the marcellus area
the fresh water zone extends to approximately 800 feet below ground
the fresh water zone consists of porous sandstone and rock stratus containing
water within the pore space of the rock
chesapeake utilizes air drying until the whole is advanced to an average of 100
to 200 feet below the base of the freshwater zone
this provides added protection to the fresh water zone
a series of compressors and boosters generate the air that is used to lift
the rock cuttings and freshwater into steel bins the rock cuttings are then
disposed of within state guidelines and permits
the drilling equipment is retracted to the surface and stored for the second
stage of drilling to protect the integrity of the whole and to protect
the surrounding deep fresh water zone a second layer of steel casing called
surface casing is installed and cemented inside the newly drilled hole and
conductor casing cement is pumped down through the surface casing and up along
the sides of the well to provide a proper seal this completely isolates the
well from the deepest of private or municipal water wells
a blowout preventer is installed after the surface casing has been cemented the
blowout preventer is a series of high pressure safety valves and seals
attached to the top of the casing to control well pressure and prevent
surface releases next a small drilling assembly is passed down through the
surface casing at the bottom of the casing the bit drills through the float
equipment and cement continuing its journey to the natural gas target area
as deep as 8,000 feet below the surface
the drilling method employed below the surface casing uses drilling mod which
is a non-hazardous mixture based on that night clay or synthetic thickeners in
addition to lifting the rock cuttings out of the hole drilling mud also helps
to stabilize the hole
call the drill bit and control down whole pressure a few hundred feet above
the target show
the drilling assembly comes to a stop
the entire string is retracted to the surface to adjust the drawing assembly
and install a special drawing tool this tool allows Chesapeake to gradually turn
the drill bit until a horizontal plane is reached the remainder of the well is
drilled in this horizontal plane while in contact with the gas producing shale
drilling continues horizontally through the shale at links greater than 4,000
feet from the point where it entered the formation
once drilling is completed the equipment is retracted to the surface then a
smaller diameter casing called production casing is installed
throughout the total length of the well the production casing is submitted and
secured in place by pumping cement down through the end of the casing depending
on regional geologic conditions the cement is pumped around the outside
casing wall to approximately 2,500 feet above the producing Shale formation or
to the surface
the cement creates a seal to ensure that formation fluids can only be produced
via the production casing
after each layer of casing is installed the wellness pressure tested to ensure
its integrity for continued drilling the cross section of the well below surface
reveals several protective layers cement conductor casing cement surface casing
drilling mud production casing and then production tubing through which the
produced gas and water will flow
seven layers of protection horizontal drilling offers many advantages when
compared to vertical drilling
since horizontal wells contact more of the gas producing shale fewer wells are
needed to optimally develop a gas-filled multiple Wells can be drilled from the
same pad sites for example development of a 1,280 acres tract of land using
conventional vertical drilling techniques could require as many as 32
vertical wells with each having its own pad site
however one multi well pad site with horizontal wells can effectively recover
the same natural gas reserves from the 1280 acre tract of land while reducing
the overall surface disturbance by ninety percent
fracking is a technique that involves pumping water and sand at high pressure
into shale formations
after drilling has been completed in a prospective location
the shale formation is perforated or puncture to prime it for the fracturing
process
the area is then subjected to water and sand at high pressure to fracture the
shale once fractured sand is used to hold the small cracks and fissures open
releasing natural gas and allowing it to move up the wellbore to the surface with
this new technology a land rush soon followed by gas producers to obtain the
best locations in potential gas shale plays across the nation more discoveries
are made every year and new industry estimates now state that the US has a
100 year supply of natural gas
today natural gas is used all over the world as a versatile form of
clean-burning energy
common uses include heating homes and powering hot water heaters dryers and
stovetops but its ability to adapt to so many other needed areas have made it an
ideal energy for making plastics power electric turbines and commercial
chillers that cool office buildings when used as an automotive fuel compressed
natural gas or CNG is a clean fuel that can power buses trucks and compact cars
natural gas has proven to be a clean affordable abundant alternative to
gasoline and Cole ninety-nine percent of the natural gas used in the u.s. is
produced at home in our own nation with a variety of uses and new technology
natural gas is proving it's the energy of the future
yeah
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