Ashbaugh #1 Fraced Over the Weekend

Progress News Reporter Embedded During Process
By Drew Orient
Knox PA – It is late Friday afternoon, December 17, 2010, and The Progress News has been on the site of the Stone Energy Inc. Marcellus Well site Ashbaugh #1.

The site now easily seen is northeast of Knox at the intersection of Bus Mong and Oak Grove Road. As previously reported this Marcellus well’s first horizontal leg was completed in late October. Since then work has continued  to progress, in preparation to “frac” the well. Many of our readers may have been watching the work continue and, like us, wanted to know what is the latest activity at this site.
In doing a series of articles on the impacts of  Marcellus Shale exploration and development the fracing process has commanded much attention. It is good to come back to the local well site and to follow the process as it happens to gain perspective and in a sense understand fracing in real time.
Fracing a well greatly increases the production of natural gas, and has proven to be very effective in the marcellus shale formation. At the same time there has been concerns raised about water quality issues and possible contamination.
To frac a well requires an orchestration of multiple activities. In the past thirty days a total of 58 mobile holding tanks have been brought to the site. These tanks were then filled with recovered frac water from a previous frac operation and brought in by tanker trucks. This was done, according to Jerry Holcomb, Stone Energy’s Completion Superintendent, to conserve the amount of fresh water needed. Over a million gallons of water is now in the tanks. Fresh water has been pumped from a nearby stream under a DEP permit and is contained in the fresh water impoundment on site. When the fracing process begins the tank water and fresh water will be blended as it is injected into the well. The water pond is constructed in such a way so no surface water drains into the pond.  Due to weather, the water in the tanks is being heated so that the operation can be continuous.
The fracing is being done by the Haliburton Corporation of Duncan Okalahoma, with a location just south of Indiana PA. Haliburton crews moved trucks and equipment on site earlier this week and have been working around the clock to have everything ready for the frac.
The equipment includes huge hydraulic pumps to inject the water, large generators, chemical and sand storage and blending tanks, water pumps, piping systems, support trailers and machines.
The crew necessary numbers over thirty skilled and experienced workers. The fracing will be done in multiple sections. The well bore is totally steel encased, triple walled through the fresh water zones and double to 2500 feet and cemented. The perforations in the horizontal pipe lateral for the first frac section have already been made through small explosive charges. The force by high heat temperature bores a less than half inch hole in the pipe and continues to fracture the surrounding shale for a short distance.
The next step, which will happen this evening after this story is submitted, is the injection of water and sand under pressure, which will be done by a super sized hydraulic pump. The frac liquid mixture, which is set by Stone Energy, is 99.7 percent water and includes friction reducing and lubricating chemicals. (The composition is available on the Stone Energy web site) The mixture will exit the pipe through the perforations, enter the shale, and fracture it. The total process is minutely controlled by computer systems from a sophisticated control trailer on site. Stone also employs a master control valve system that can shut the whole operation immediately if a problem develops.
Before the frac begins a safety meeting is conducted for all members of the crew to emphasize the need to take time to be careful and pay attention. Behind all this is the hum of motors and engines, the lighted winter landscape, and a pause with everything ready.
Next week we will review the Stone Energy fracing compounds and discuss the frac process and impacts further, “for now, the game is on.”