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 the 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 was started in rural areas. What was once quiet farmland, with a network of small country roads, suddenly became 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 enjoyed 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 frac sand '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.

Marcellus Shale farm country in Pennsylvania

Quiet Marcellus Shale farm country

Rig drilling Marcellus Shale for natural gas

Marcellus drilling rig on the horizon

$Temporary piping of water and fluids from an impoundment to the frac site$

White plastic pipes carry fluids for fracking from an impoundment dam

Temporary fluid pipeline along a country road

Sand tankers haul fine white sand used as a proppant

Tractor trailers hauling frac sand are lined-up in wait

$Marcellus Shale frac site$

Fracking site in rural Marcellus Shale country

Trucks passing on a small country lane to a staging site

$Trucks, tanker, frac pumps and satellite command center for fracing$

Staging area for frac equipment

$Marcellus fracking trucks and equipment$

Back-up frack control van with the satellite dish down

$Sand tanker moving over to the frack site$

Frac sand tractor trailer moving over to frack site across the road

$Sand tanker backed up sand kings and fraccing equipment$

Sand tanker hooked to 'sand kings' near the mixer.

$Mixing point for sand, frac fluids, chemicals and fluids that are pumped through white pipes from a nearby impoundment$

White pipes carry 4 million gallons of water needed for fracking one well

Fine particulate dust in the air from the sand being moved at high volume

Dusty area near the sand kings and frac mixer

Tractor trailer holding sand connected to a 'sand king'

Hoses connected to the sand trailer

Fumes and dust spewing from the mixing area

White plastic pipes carry fluids from a nearby impoundment dam

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

$Well site with frack equipment in place$

Site of the fracking on a well pad with multiple wells

Drill pipe on a drilling pad

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

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