Hydro Excavation playing a part in the American Shale Gas Boom
Hear the term “fracking” popping up all over the place these days… wondering when the limits on foul language became so lax? No, no… fracking isn’t foul, it’s actually helping to boost the economy now and possibly well into the future. According to a recent Economist article, “Shale of the Century”
America’s gas boom confers a huge economic advantage. It has created hundreds of thousands of jobs, directly and indirectly. And it has rejuvenated several industries, including petrochemicals, where ethane produced from natural gas is a feedstock. Read to full article about the American Shale Gas Boom here >>
What is Fracking?
Fracking is a process of extracting natural gas from underground rock formations much like removing water from a sponge. The gas is trapped in pockets in the formation and with the application of pressure, the gas escapes the rock. Fracking fluids are generally a mixture of water and sand… Energy From Shale states;
Water accounts for about 90 percent of the fracturing mixture and sand accounts for about 9.5 percent. Read more about Fracking for Shale Gas here >>
These pressurized Fracking Fluids are applied to an underground formation containing trapped natural gas deposits. This causes the small chambers holding the gas to fracture (thus the term fracking) and the gas can move freely from the formation and be extracted.
Hydraulic Fracturing “Fracking” Video
Fracking and Hydro Excavation
Traditional drilling techniques are used to lay pipe underground in order to reach trapped Shale Gas deposits and as depth are increased, a mud mixture is used in the drilling process. Historically this mud mixture would be left in pits at the dig site and simply buried. Not so today… and this where T-Rex Hydro Excavation and Industrial Vacuum Services are helping in the process. These mud mixtures are vacuumed using one of of the trucks from the T-Rex Hydro Excavation Fleet. The mud mixture is transported to facility for either a safe disposal or recycling.
At T-Rex we are proud to be able help our clients in the Eagle Ford Shale area during this exciting time. For more about how T-Rex is using Hydro Excavation to help a variety of clients check out our Hydro Excavation Services Section >>
