Experts Convene for Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing Conference
Experts Convene for Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing Conference
ASME’s inaugural conference on Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing brought industry and academic thought leaders from around the world together in San Diego in March.
In opening the three-day conference, Tim Graves, operations director for ASME’s International Petroleum Technology Institute, explained that ASME was well qualified to host the event, saying “from fluid and fracturing dynamics to piping and pumping technology, mechanical engineers stand at the center of the hydraulic fracturing revolution.”
Several speakers pointed out that the industry’s success in recovering unconventional shale gas in the U.S. has come despite low efficiency. With prices now very low, they said efficiency must improve, and they outlined a broad range of technologies and practices to help accomplish that.
“So today, in the Marcellus, which is the best gas play in North America, economically…, more than 50 percent of the wells are not making money at today’s pricing,” said Jeff Meisenhelder, vice president, Unconventional Resources, at Schlumberger, citing data from a 2014 study conducted by the consulting firm PCF Energy. “I hope that is a little shocking to you guys. It was certainly a little shocking to me.”
Meisenhelder presented data showing the same story for the Bakken Field. “So, why is that? Well, I’m going to argue that the reason for that is half the wells are either drilled in the wrong place laterally, landed in the wrong place vertically, or were completed inefficiently.”
Solutions, Meisenhelder said, lie in speeding drilling and recovery through good project and supply-side management, an integrated approach to appraisal, data-driven decision making, and technological advances made possible from material science, computer engineering and computer modeling. One example he cited is the use of computers to design drills, eliminating the need for test rigs.
Other themes that emerged during the conference are the need to use interdisciplinary approaches to better understand the geology of drill sites, and the importance of better use of technology across all stages of the process. “When you talk about maximizing unconventional asset value, the most critical thing is… to have… a complete understanding of the reservoir,” said Ruston Mody, vice president of Technology, Completions and Production at Baker Hughes. “And you have to be smart and be effective in terms of using modern technology.”
Mody cited several examples of new technology: drill bits that combine different types of cutting elements; a rotary, steerable drilling system that permits better navigation and placement of the well bore while delivering smoother surfaces; plugs using nano-materials that dissolve after use; imaging technology to better plan stage spacing; and sensors and fiber-optic systems that permit real-time, micro-seismic measurements.
Meisenhelder described how new technology can drive better processes: “Five years ago we couldn’t in a practical, software system that runs on a laptop, model the interaction between a hydraulic fracture and a plane of weakness in the rock or a natural fracture. Now we have tools so that we can take the DFM, the Discrete Fracture Network, from our geologists and plug it directly into our fracture simulator… and we can actually run that whole process in two or three hours.”
Environmental concerns and efforts to lower costs and improve performance merged in several presentations on methods to reduce — or eliminate — the use of fresh water in hydraulic fracturing.
Satya Gupta, global business development director, Production Enhancement Technology, for Baker Hughes, reviewed systems that use filtration, reclamation, sea water, production water with additives, fluids that can be recycled, energized treatments and foams, alcohol, hydrocarbons and liquid CO2.
Not all of discussion centered on proven techniques. Jeremy Dockter, co-founder and managing director at Expansion Energy, described a “pre-commercial” process using liquefied natural gas as a fracking fluid.
Mark Zoback, professor of geophysics at Stanford University, spoke of the importance of decreasing the risk of earthquakes by avoiding the injection of waste water near known faults. “This is a problem we understand and we know what to do about it,” Zoback said, calling on the industry to be pro-active.
Several speakers addressed global opportunities for hydraulic fracturing. Melissa Stark, managing director of Accenture’s Energy Industry Group, described factors that influence shale development in nine countries. She said that Argentina is moving fastest. But she said that development trends in Argentina, as well as Poland, Russia and Saudi Arabia, will be very dependent on the energy and fiscal policies of their governments. In China, Stark said there needs to be significant investment in technology, to drill in rock that is very different from shale in the U.S. In the U.K., as in much of Western Europe, a big factor impeding development, Stark pointed out, is the opposition of many non-governmental organizations. In both Australia and Mexico, she said there is significant competition from conventional oil, making shale development a lower priority.
Stark described other factors impacting shale development overseas: availability of data, land access, infrastructure, and the skill level of local workforces. “In terms of overall timing, this is still a very long play, closer to 10 years probably than five years, for this to really get going outside the U.S.,” Stark said. “People have to be patient. There are going to be failures. And a lot of things need to be in place in all the markets.”
The Shale Development and Hydraulic Fracturing conference was part of the ASME Energy Forum, a multi-media series that explores technical aspects of a broad range of energy sources and related technologies. Plans for a follow-up conference in Texas in March 2015 are underway.
— Roger Torda, ASME Public Information
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