At one time the process of extracting oil and natural gas from the earth consisted of drilling a simple vertical well a few hundred feet below the surface. Today's methods are far more sophisticated. After drilling to the target depth, the drill is actively steered for long distances through the productive rock formation. A fleet of trucks is then employed to fracture this formation using water-based non-Newtonian fluids incorporating a variety of additives. In order to protect groundwater resources, wellbores are sealed with cements engineered to ensure hydraulic isolation. A quantitative discussion of the principles and methods of each of these operations will be presented.

Principles and methods of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing

248th National Meeting (2014)

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