Full Title: Water Use in Deep Shale Gas Exploration
Author(s): Chesapeake Energy
Publisher(s): Chesapeake Energy
Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):
Water is an essential component of Chesapeake Energy Corporation’ s deep shale gas development. Chesapeake uses water for drilling, where a mixture of clay and water is used to carry rock cuttings to the surface, as well as to cool and lubricate the drillbit. Drilling a typical Chesapeake deep shale gas well requires between 65,000 and 600,000 gallons of water. Water is also used in hydraulic fracturing, where a mixture of water and sand is injected into the deep shale at a high pressure to create small cracks in the rock and allow gas to freely flow to the surface. Fracturing a typical Chesapeake horizontal deep shale gas well requires an average of 4.5 million gallons per well.