As I completed my first semester as an aspiring Petroleum Engineer, I remember still have some confusion as to what the whole process of drilling and completing a well by means of hydraulic fracturing even looked like.  In this industry, it is interesting to think about that Petroleum Engineers are the only engineers that do not actually get to see any of their work.  Every that is put into place is done subsurface, and though may be interpreted through microseismic three dimensional modeling, the process is still something that cannot be seen by the naked eye.

There was a video that I saw the summer after my first year of study and it made more sense than the whole two semesters combined.  This goes to show that it is very easy for anyone to not understand the oil and gas, exploration and production technology. What tends to happen though in some instances, is that some make outlandish claims without much technical support that really put a negative connotation on the industry as in this California based article.  The emphasis of fraccing fluid contamination and link to greenhouse gas is a little unjust, by them insinuating that this takes place every time a well is hydraulically fractured.

For those who have not had much exposure to the drilling, casing, cementing, perforation, and hydraulic fracturing process this is a very beneficial video to gain a great understanding of what actually takes place and how unlikely any type of contamination is with the measures that companies are now taking.

Is this any different than what you thought before? How so?

Bill