From The WSJ published on June 29, 2018.
DISH, Texas—Twenty years ago this month, a well was drilled here that changed the world.
Nothing at the time suggested the unassuming well in this rural
town north of Fort Worth would hobble OPEC, the powerful oil cartel
that had governed prices of the world’s most important commodity for
more than a generation. Or that it would help turn the U.S. into a
global energy exporter, or shuffle the geopolitical deck.
But it did all of that—and more. The well
used hydraulic fracturing to crack the incredibly tight shale rocks
below. It fired the first shot in the fracking revolution—a blast soon
felt in Riyadh, Tehran and Moscow.
“I had no idea it would cause so much change. I was just trying
to keep my job,” said Nick Steinsberger on a recent visit to the well
pad. He was the engineer who obtained permission to try a new approach
to completing the well that had been drilled a mile and a half deep into
a thick grey wedge of rock known as the Barnett Shale.
Mr. Steinsberger, now 54, called the experiment “my slick-water
frack.” It was the first commercially successful use of sand, water and
chemicals, pumped into the shale under high pressure, to break open the
rock and unleash the natural gas trapped inside. It was the beginning
of modern fracking.
Long, long, article at the link. I assume it's behind a paywall. Hopefully most can access it. Great story. Sent to me by Don many weeks ago.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.