The current wells are vertical as opposed to horizontal.
When they frack shale or coal it means fracture it, usually with water at high pressure to allow the gas trapped in the rock or coal to escape. They fracture it multiple time to make it porous, with horizontals they drill sideways, sometimes up to 2km through the shale and there can be multiple fracking stages in the shale at various lengths along the bore.
So with the current wells which are vertical wells, one of the issue is that the water level above the well head results in increased pressure. The temperature of the water up there is cold as hell and the gas binds to the water instead of being released, which is hydrate formation.
As the water pressure and level drop and the temp rises the gas is released and collected, that's the theory.
MAE Price at posting:
0.6¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
