|
|
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.
|
 |
Quiet Marcellus Shale farm country
|
 |
Marcellus drilling rig on the
horizon
|
 |
White plastic pipes carry fluids for
fracking from an
impoundment dam
|
 |
Temporary fluid pipeline along a country road
|
 |
Fracking site from a distance
|
 |
Tractor trailers hauling frac sand are
lined-up in wait
|
 |
Fracking site in rural Marcellus Shale
country
|
 |
Trucks passing on a small country lane to a staging
site
|
 |
Staging area for frac equipment
|
 |
Back-up fracking control van with the
satellite dish down
|
 |
Frac sand tractor trailer moving over to frack
site across the road
|
 |
Sand tanker hooked to 'sand kings' near the
mixer.
|
 |
White pipes carry 4 million gallons of
water needed for fracking one well
|
 |
Dusty area near the sand kings and frac
mixer
|
 |
Hoses connected to the sand trailer
|
 |
Fumes and dust spewing from the mixing area
|
 |
Edge of frack site on Marcellus Shale
|
 |
Trucks carrying frac fluids
|
|
"Although no complete list of the
cocktail of chemicals used in this process exists,
information obtained from environmental clean-up sites
demonstrates that known toxins are routinely being used,
including hydrochloric acid, diesel fuel (which contains
benzene, tuolene, and xylene) as well as formaldehyde,
polyacrylimides, arsenic, and chromates."
Sourcewatch.org |
|
| |
 |
Plastic containers with frac fluids
|
 |
Site of the fracking on a well pad with
multiple wells
|
| LINKS
Marcellus compressor stations
Marcellus Shale gas well photos |
|
|
| |
|
 |
| |
