Off Topic Re-Fracking Oil Wells

[TASFarms]

If the surface casing is done right. There should be no problems with drinking water. There is the odd well that is bad. I rember it circulating on a well north of eagle lake. We were having lunch in the doghouse and the Derrick hand was at he pump truck. Field sup showed up and was honking his horn. I said to boys. What's up with this guy, it's not there is oil running by the doghouse. I opened the door. And to my surprise there was. It's was coming out of the ground under the front of the rig which was on the lease road.

[grassfarmer]

I obviously know more about it than you Klause - otherwise why would you highlight Barazan as one of the nasty chemicals when its only a powdered Xanthan gum polymer - Xanthan being another common food additive.

How about the methanol, the BTEX compounds like benzene, lead, hydrogen fluoride,naphthalene, sulphuric acid,formaldehyde, diesel and all the minor ones on the "proprietary" list? Many carcinogens and poisons on that list.

[grassfarmer]

Allis, essentially no difference in re-fracking. Just blasting the pores open again to get it flowing again.

[AllisWD45]

Why are they supposedly much cheaper to re-frack than the original frack. This according to company websites that are or will be involved in re-fracking.
This when some are claiming it is a much more involved procedure with more fluids and more pressure than the original job.
Re-fracking seems like it has a future in todays investment climate in the oil industry

[Klause]

Sarcasm grassfarmer. Sarcasm.


Methanol? Never used. Evaporates too quickly in high temps.


The only time nasty stuff is used is when you're dealing with invert...

[LEP]

Allis, I would say that refracking is considered cheaper because they are going into an existing well not drilling new. Fracking has been around for decades. They were doing it in my area in the 70's. Like Coleville says with directional drilling and multistage fracking they are able to have essentially similiar production to 6 or 8 wells with the surface disturbance of one. More efficient infrastructure, less lease roads, less flow lines etc.

Grassfarmer the zones where the fracking occurs is no where near the depth where we draw drinking water.

I have no problem with fracking of oil wells. Shale gas is another story. It is too close to the depth where we draw our drinking water and I think this is where the bulk of the problems have occurred. Unfortunately, fracking of oil wells get lumped in.

[Klause]

Refracting costs more than the first frank but it's way cheaper than drilling a new well....


may be a good time to invest in calfrac and haliburton and the like

[AllisWD45]

Thank you guys. Was reading where Crescent Point was budgeting to do a lot of this in the future.Yes this may be an interesting thing investment wise. Sold some deep in the money calls on some gold stocks which should work out. Maybe next place is oil. Thanks again.

[grassfarmer]

Sarcasm - I don't think so Klause - caught you out fair and square BS'ing. No methanol indeed - check out the white paper prepared for the Methanol Institute on the role of methanol in fracking. It's even got the company MSDS sheets on there listing the methanol, not even hidden in their proprietary information.

http://www.methanol.org/Environment/Resources/Environment/Methanol-Fracking-Fluid-White-Paper-Aug-2011.aspx


LEP seems a complete novice too - it's all shale gas fracking they are doing in central Alberta, not oil, but when you say shale gas and its closer proximity to water I guess you are actually meaning fracking coal bed methane like at Rosebud. And so naive as to point out that it's at a different level to the water so how could contamination happen.
With 20-30% of existing and abandoned wells leaking, corroded well bores and poor cement jobs there is plenty opportunity for migration. Ask the folks in Pavillion, Wyoming what is in their water and where it came from. Or the "well communication" issue at Innisfail, AB where fracking on one side of a hill blew out an oil well on the other side and they knew nothing about it until passers by pointed out the oil slick running across a farmers field.

Allis I'd be wary of investing in such a process. First there is the "ethical investment" side which doesn't seem to bother you. Just wait until it's your land or your water contaminated.

Secondly you are taking a big risk investing in such cowboy activity. Fracking bans and moratoriums are springing up around the globe as more is learned about the practice. Denton, Texas - the birth place of hydraulic fracturing has banned it. Scotland, Wales and numerous other EU countries have moratoriums. Here in Canada New Brunswick, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland all have bans or moratoriums in place.

As landowners I think there is a bigger issue here - you folks need to educate yourselves and wake up to the risks before the land men knock on your neighbours door wanting to drill under your land.
Here in Alberta we had the Provincial Government argue in court last fall in the Ernst vs Encana lawsuit that through their regulator the ERCB they "owed no duty of care to individual landowners harmed by industrial activity" They also tried to have her lawsuit struck down "because it would open a floodgate of litigation against the province"

What more proof do you need that they know this practise is wrong and they know it? As landowners that should concern you all.

[Oliver88]

Makes sense to use this process to fully utilize existing wells.

[Klause]

Grass we do this shit for a living!!!!


You sit on an Internet forum claiming you know more about flooding and oil than the rest of us that have actually experienced it. Quit Making a fool of yourself.


An oil well that has a 900m vertical leg and the fracture zone is at the bottom of that... do you have a water well that deep?

And no... oil fracturing is happening in central AB.

Three Hills, Olds, Sundre and Rocky Mountain all have fractured oil wells... I was on the rig that drilled them.



I have an MSDS binder 4 inches thick with all the chemicals that can be used in a well... about 20 pages covers 90% of what is used today.




Did you know surface casing is usually drilled with plain water? At the very least the first couple hundred meters are.

I agree there's old wells that leak and there are issues with gas wells... However standards in Canada are the tightest in the world... The US has issues. Heck half the time they don't even know what formation they are in!

[Klause]

And please clarify... are you against directional wells, franking, or all oil production?


Not all horizontal wells are fractured. Some verticals are.


From the sounds of your posts you are just anti energy.