The Barnett Shale Cover Series: Where It All Began

During 2011, Upstream Pumping Solutions has examined production in major North American shale plays. We will do the same next year because a slowdown in shale drilling and production does not appear to be coming any time soon. In this issue, it only seems reasonable to go to the region in which hydraulic fracturing in shale plays began in earnest—the Barnett Shale.

The Beginning

In the early 1990s, Mitchel Energy began using hydraulic fracturing to stimulate natural gas wells in the Barnett Shale.¹ For years, the Barnett Shale was known to contain large amounts of natural gas, but the gas could rarely be produced to an appropriate quantity. This changed when hydraulic fracturing began to be used. Mitchel Energy first used fracturing in a vertical well with some success.

Initially, success was slow. Because of the high pressure, the fractures made by the process closed before the gas could be extracted. Adding proppants—Mitchel Energy added sand—to the fracturing water held the fractures open and allowed the gas to escape the rock.

Hurdles to Production

Current production faces many obstacles—some of which are similar to those faced in other shale areas. Of course, environmental questions are still being raised, and the EPA continues to investigate the process. Who will monitor and regulate the process is still in question. Will it be state governments or the federal government?

Another common issue in arid production areas is a demand for water. In the Eagle Ford Shale, water is at a premium—simply for everyday use. In the Bakken, residents do not want the water from lakes to be consumed by the process. From where will the huge amounts of water needed for hydraulic fracturing be obtained? One solution is to reuse the water after it has been used for fracturing.

This raises another question that involves reuse and the environment: how will it be treated for disposal/reuse? Water treatment is fast becoming a No. 1 topic for producers not only in the Barnett but in all the shale areas.

The Barnett has another obstacle to its production. Sections of the shale are under the Dallas/Fort Worth metropolitan area. The highly-populated area has benefited from many jobs created by the oil and gas boom, but it has also dealt with traffic, air pollution and drilling noise. Some of the population has similar fears found in other shale areas (such as the Marcellus) regarding the environmental risks of the process. These concerns have lead to some citizens and politicians looking for ways to limit/stop the drilling.