Re:Karoo - Petroleum Agency SA - Soly
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by
posted on
Oct 07, 2014 12:05AM
Developing large acreage positions of unconventional and conventional oil and gas resources
There was no fracking done in the CR1/68 vertical well, however it was drilled into a naturally fractured formation.
And as you said it was 45 years ago. Today, in the 21'st century all unconventional plays drilled horizontally and fracked to achieve optimal production.
Horizontal drilling explanation By Lynn Helms
Horizontal drilling is the process of drilling a well from the surface to a subsurface location just above the target oil or gas reservoir called the “kickoff point”, then deviating the well bore from the vertical plane around a curve to intersect the reservoir at the “entry point” with a near-horizontal inclination, and remaining within the reservoir until the desired bottom hole location is reached.
Purpose
Most oil and gas reservoirs are much more extensive in their horizontal dimensions than in their vertical (thickness) dimension. By drilling a well which intersects such a reservoir parallel to its plane of more extensive dimension, horizontal drilling exposes significantly more reservoir rock to the well bore than would be the case with a conventional vertical well penetrating the reservoir perpendicular to its plane of more extensive dimension.
Greater length of producing formation exposed to the wellbore in a horizontal well (A) than in a vertical well (B).
Source: Energy Information Administration, Office of Oil and Gas.