Marcellus Frac / Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing of a Marcellus Shale gas well

Doesn't really matter how you spell the abbreviation for hydraulic fracturing. For pronunciation purposes, it is usually written as 'frack' which is good enough. But then some want to spell it fraccing instead of fracing, or you may even see it written as frac'ing with the apostrophe added. Fracking will serve our purposes here, that being to show photos of what sort of conglomeration of trucks and equipment ends up on a Marcellus Shale frack job.

'Fracking Convention' might even be a better term, since it is a large gathering of men and machines (does this industry hire any women for field operations, we haven't seen any yet?) In the early days of Marcellus Shale gas drilling, most of the gas drilling has started in rural areas. What was once quiet farmland, with a network of small country roads, suddenly becomes a mass invasion of 24-7 truck traffic. Mostly big semi - tractor trailers are required to do the hauling for hydraulic fracturing of a Marcellus gas well. These operations can last for several days. You often hear residents say they are ready to move away, since the peace they once had is now gone in the rural Marcellus gas fields.

In addition to the trucks that haul frac fluids and other chemicals, every type of truck imaginable ends up on those gas well locations. The large tanker trucks carrying the 'proppant' appear to make the most trips, since some Marcellus wells require over 3-million pounds of the fine white sand for completion of the well. If each semi hauled 30-tons of this sand, it would take 50 tractor trailer loads to deliver 3,000,000 lbs. This is why it is so important for municipalities to 'Bond' their roads and bridges. They will get destroyed. Most of these roads were never intended for heavy trucks, especially not the volume of truck traffic needed to complete a Marcellus well. If a pad contains multiple wells, multiply these truck trips accordingly.

The photos below will illustrate what a Marcellus frack job looks like up close.