xix
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 A flaming kitchen faucet caused by natural gas entering
a domestic water supply well in Pennsylvania. Images like
this have become linked to environmental concerns about fracking.
(Photo copyright Getty Images; used under license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Fig. 1.2 Annual production of natural gas and petroleum in the United States
compared to Russia and Saudi Arabia. (Source: Reproduced
from U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA)
webpage, dated May 21, 2018 (https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/
detail.php?id=36292)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Fig. 1.3 Heights of hydraulic fractures on the Marcellus Shale measured
with microseismic monitoring data plotted against the depth of the
deepest freshwater aquifer in each county (solid shading at top
of graph). (Data courtesy Kevin Fisher, used with permission
(Fisher and Warpinski 2012)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Fig. 2.1 Fresh exposure of lower Marcellus Shale in Seneca Stone
Company quarry in upstate New York. Rock hammer for scale
is 13 inches (33 cm) in length. (Photographed in 2012
by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Fig. 2.2 Visualization of the physical parameters used to define
Darcy’s law of permeability. (Sketch by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Fig. 2.3 Schematic comparing the configuration of a conventional vertical
well with a horizontal shale well. (Modified from Soeder
and Kappel (2009)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Fig. 2.4 A massive wellhead known as a frack gate on a Marcellus
Shale well in Pennsylvania with geologist Bill Schuller standing
nearby for scale. (Photographed in 2011 by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . 27
Fig. 2.5 Initiating a hydraulic fracture in the Marcellus Shale
at a wellsite in southwestern Pennsylvania. (Photographed
in 2011 by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
List of Figures
Fig. 1.1 A flaming kitchen faucet caused by natural gas entering
a domestic water supply well in Pennsylvania. Images like
this have become linked to environmental concerns about fracking.
(Photo copyright Getty Images; used under license) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Fig. 1.2 Annual production of natural gas and petroleum in the United States
compared to Russia and Saudi Arabia. (Source: Reproduced
from U.S. Energy Information Administration (USEIA)
webpage, dated May 21, 2018 (https://www.eia.gov/todayinenergy/
detail.php?id=36292)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Fig. 1.3 Heights of hydraulic fractures on the Marcellus Shale measured
with microseismic monitoring data plotted against the depth of the
deepest freshwater aquifer in each county (solid shading at top
of graph). (Data courtesy Kevin Fisher, used with permission
(Fisher and Warpinski 2012)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Fig. 2.1 Fresh exposure of lower Marcellus Shale in Seneca Stone
Company quarry in upstate New York. Rock hammer for scale
is 13 inches (33 cm) in length. (Photographed in 2012
by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Fig. 2.2 Visualization of the physical parameters used to define
Darcy’s law of permeability. (Sketch by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Fig. 2.3 Schematic comparing the configuration of a conventional vertical
well with a horizontal shale well. (Modified from Soeder
and Kappel (2009)) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Fig. 2.4 A massive wellhead known as a frack gate on a Marcellus
Shale well in Pennsylvania with geologist Bill Schuller standing
nearby for scale. (Photographed in 2011 by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . 27
Fig. 2.5 Initiating a hydraulic fracture in the Marcellus Shale
at a wellsite in southwestern Pennsylvania. (Photographed
in 2011 by Dan Soeder) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29