MEMO

Date:
To:
From:
Subject:
Assignment:

September 28th, 2013

Professor Karen Thompson
Daniel Broers
English 317
Project 2 Technical Definition and Description.

Found in this informative document are the extended technical definition and the developed
technical description as required for this assignment. The subject I have chosen to define and
describe is oil well hydraulic fracturing which is the career field in which I plan to use my
engineering degree as a petroleum field engineer.
Audience
The audience I will be addressing is the general public and to fulfill their curiosity as to why oil
well hydraulic fracturing is needed and how it helps to help the underground oil to flow more
consistently and effectively.
Problem
I hope to shed more light on the process and idea of oil well hydraulic fracturing and how it
dramatically increases the flow of oil in the wells.
Placement
The extended technical definition will on the next page after the memo and before the developed
technical description. It includes the definition of hydraulic fracturing, why it is needed for oil
flow, and a description of horizontal well fracturing.
The developed technical description starts on page four and comes directly after the extended
technical definition. I explain how much more flow is produced by hydraulic fracturing and the
process of hydraulic fracturing.

Page 1

Oil Well Hydraulic Fracturing (Extended Technical Definition)

Hydraulic fracturing (also
hydrofracturing, fracking, or fraccing)
is a well-stimulation technique in
which rock is fractured by a
hydraulically pressurized liquid (up to
15,000 psi). A high-pressure fluid
(usually chemicals and sand suspended
in water) is injected into a wellbore up
to 20,000ft below ground to create
cracks in the deep-rock formations
through which petroleum will flow
more freely. When the hydraulic
pressure is removed from the well,
small grains of hydraulic fracturing
proppants (either sand or aluminum
oxide) hold the fractures open once the
deep rock achieves geologic equilibrium. Such well-stimulation is common throughout the
exploitation of the field to greatly increase the flow rate. Stimulation is intensified to extend the
period before production declines.
Why oil well hydraulic fracturing is needed
Hydraulic fracturing is used to increase the rate at which oil can be recovered from subterranean
natural reservoirs. Reservoirs are typically porous sandstone, limestone, or dolomite rocks, but
also include "unconventional reservoirs" such as shale rock or coal beds. Hydraulic fracturing
enables the extraction of oil from rock formations deep below the earth's surface (generally
5,00020,000 ft), which is greatly below typical groundwater reservoir levels. At such depth,
there may be inadequate permeability (reservoir pressure) to allow oil to flow from the rock into
the wellbore at a high economic return for the oil companies. Thus, creating conductive fractures
in the rock is instrumental in extraction from naturally impermeable shale reservoirs. Fractures
are a conductive path connecting a larger volume of reservoir to the well. In other words oil will
hydraulic fracturing creates cracks deeper in the rock formation to release more oil, and increases
efficiency. The yield for typical shale bores generally falls off after the first year or two, but the
peak producing life of a well can be extended to several decades.

Page 2

Horizontal applications
Since the early 2000s,
advances in drilling and
completion technology
have made horizontal
wellbores much more
economical. Horizontal
wellbores allow far
greater exposure to a
formation than
conventional vertical
wellbores. This is
particularly useful in
shale formations which
do not have sufficient
permeability to produce
economically with a
vertical well. Such wells,
when drilled onshore, are now usually hydraulically fractured in a number of stages, especially in
North America.

Page 3

Oil Well Hydraulic Fracturing (Developed Technical Description)

Contrary to many
media reports,
hydraulic fracturing
is not a drilling
process. Hydraulic
fracturing is used
after the drilled hole
is completed. Put
simply, hydraulic
fracturing is the use
of fluid and material
to create or restore
small fractures in a
formation in order
to stimulate
production from
new and existing oil
wells. This creates
paths that increase
the rate at which
fluids can be produced from the reservoir formations, in some cases by many hundreds of
percent.
The Hydraulic Fracturing Process
The placement of hydraulic fracturing treatments underground is sequenced to meet the
particular needs of the formation. Each oil zone is different and requires a hydraulic fracturing
design tailored to the particular conditions of the formation. Therefore, while the process
remains essentially the same, the sequence may change depending upon unique local conditions.
It is important to note that not all of the additives are used in every hydraulically fractured well;
the exact blend and proportions of additives will vary based on the site-specific depth,
thickness and other characteristics of the target rock formation.
Acid
This is the first step and consists of several thousand gallons of water mixed with a dilute acid
such as hydrochloric or muriatic acid: This serves to clear cement debris in the wellbore and
provide an open conduit for other fracturing fluids by dissolving carbonate minerals and opening
fractures near the wellbore.

Page 4

Pad
The second step in fracking a well consists of pumping down the wellbore approximately
100,000 gallons of friction reducing water without proppant (sand, etc) material: The friction
reducing water or slickwater pad step fills the wellbore with the slickwater, opens the
formation, and helps to facilitate the flow and placement of proppant material.
Proppant
The third step consist
of gel, water, and
proppant material
(consisting of a fine
mesh sand or ceramic
material, intended to
keep open, or prop
the fractures created
and/or enhanced
during the fracturing
operation after the
pressure is reduced):
This stage may collectively use several hundred thousand gallons of water. Proppant material
may vary from a finer particle size to a coarser particle size throughout this sequence. It is very
important during this step to consistently take samples of the gel to make sure that the proppant
is suspended within in so
that the sand doesnt go straight to the bottom of the well just like pouring sand into a glass of
water.
Flushing
The fourth and final step in fracking a well includes a volume of fresh water sufficient to flush
the excess proppant from the wellbore.

Page 5