No link yet. [I don't think the record is more than five minutes old, and wiki is already updated to reflect it. Incredible.]
Just occurred -- televised.
Incredible.
I really don't want that much NFL football, but to be able to see this record-setting event is quite exciting.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Themes That Could Be Developed From the Ohio Fracking Sand Story
Link to the original story here.
A great writer or story teller could develop the following themes from this one story.
1. Everyone imagines winning the lottery. Here's someone who has done just that: won the lottery.
2. Hydraulic fracking requires sand or proppants of some sort. But the "discovery" of hydraulic fracking which is now being used worldwide didn't just happen. It took a lot of research and the laboratory was the Bakken.
3. It is remarkable that the fracking sand was found so close to the "next big thing," the Utica.
4. If this sand is as good as they say it is, or as the article implies, maybe less ceramics from China and Russia will be needed. This has interesting implications for not only China and Russia, but also frackers.
5. If this sand is used in the Bakken, it will require railroad transportation, again implications for the transportation section.
6. The more individuals, the more businesses, the more sectors, the more states that benefit from hydraulic fracking, the less likely the EPA will be allowed to shut it down.
A great writer or story teller could develop the following themes from this one story.
1. Everyone imagines winning the lottery. Here's someone who has done just that: won the lottery.
2. Hydraulic fracking requires sand or proppants of some sort. But the "discovery" of hydraulic fracking which is now being used worldwide didn't just happen. It took a lot of research and the laboratory was the Bakken.
3. It is remarkable that the fracking sand was found so close to the "next big thing," the Utica.
4. If this sand is as good as they say it is, or as the article implies, maybe less ceramics from China and Russia will be needed. This has interesting implications for not only China and Russia, but also frackers.
5. If this sand is used in the Bakken, it will require railroad transportation, again implications for the transportation section.
6. The more individuals, the more businesses, the more sectors, the more states that benefit from hydraulic fracking, the less likely the EPA will be allowed to shut it down.
Frack Sand Central -- Ohio Has The Perfect Fracking Sand --
Sources
Proppants and other materials need for fracking, for sale.
Best link yet for "all you wanted to know about fracking sand."
Update
March 13, 2012: faulty well, not fracking, causing the problems -- WSJ.
January 6, 2012: now the kooks, idiots, hand-wringers are worried about fracking sand. This article is hardly worth linking, but it's here for three reasons: a) archives; b) another typical story in The Dickinson Press; and, c) follow-up to earlier stories about sand in Wisconsin. Same story, different "newspaper."
September 13, 2011: article on Texas frac sand. Great article. Especially since I call San Antonio home now.
Original Post
Link here. This link was sent to me by "anon 1." Thank you.
This is an incredible story, and it is incredible on many levels, none of which I will discuss. I will leave it up to the reader to think about the significance of this story. I can think of three or four themes that could be developed from this one story.
Rob Sidley is sitting on a gold mine, thanks to Mother Nature.Actually, while completing this, I thought of a fifth theme. Maybe later.
His family-owned company produces the special sand needed for the drilling boom in Ohio’s deep layer of Utica shale.
The sand is perfect for the hydraulic fracturing process — or fracking — which uses force to open cracks in the shale and free up natural gas, oil and other lucrative products.
The sand is nearly 100 percent quartz. It is round and spherical. It is hard and strong. It is resistant to water and chemicals. It is a sand that flows almost like a liquid. It can survive heavy pressures deep underground.
It takes 6,000 to 8,000 tons to frack one well, depending on the size of the well, so Sidley has a valuable commodity as drillers begin to focus their attention on eastern Ohio.
Note: someone can check my math, but the greatest amount of sand in fracking a Bakken well is upwards of four million pounds. BEXP is using 4 million pounds of proppants (mostly sand) but the "average" is probably closer to 2 million pounds. Dividing 4,000,000 by 2,000 lbs/ton, one gets about 2,000 tons, so either, a) my math is wrong; b) my facts are wrong regarding amount of sand being used in Bakken wells; and/or, c) Utica gas/oil wells are going to be using significantly more sand that Bakken wells. Maybe someone can tell me where I'm wrong.
That comment about "a sand that flows almost like a liquid," until I almost slipped and fell on ceramic proppant, I would not have understood that phrase. But stepping on ceramic proppant (which I suppose is much like this fracking sand) is literally like slipping on "black ice." A very interesting phenomenon.
Random Retail Thought -- Can You Think of Many Retail Outlets That Sell Just One Brand?
Car dealerships: although even that has changed over the years, with many dealers selling two brands (often one American; one foreign)
Fast food restaurants -- e.g., McDonald's sells only its products, except for the branded drinks
Service (gasoline) stations ...
... and then it starts to get difficult .... even Firestone sells non-Firestone tires ... Sears appliance stores? I don't know; I haven't been in a Sears appliance store in years ...
Apple -- one brand .... (yes, Apple stores do have some non-Apple brand accessories, but very, very limited in scope; much like branded drinks in fast food restaurants)
Ikea -- selected non-Ikea brand accessories, again
Telecom -- one branded spectrum (ATT, Verizon, Sprint), but multiple cell phone brands
Obviously I am not including the outlet stores seen in a few locations around the US.
I started thinking about that in view of John C Dvorak's recent column and while reading the bio of Steve Jobs, a Christmas gift from my wife. How far could Apple expand its product line?
Fast food restaurants -- e.g., McDonald's sells only its products, except for the branded drinks
Service (gasoline) stations ...
... and then it starts to get difficult .... even Firestone sells non-Firestone tires ... Sears appliance stores? I don't know; I haven't been in a Sears appliance store in years ...
Apple -- one brand .... (yes, Apple stores do have some non-Apple brand accessories, but very, very limited in scope; much like branded drinks in fast food restaurants)
Ikea -- selected non-Ikea brand accessories, again
Telecom -- one branded spectrum (ATT, Verizon, Sprint), but multiple cell phone brands
Obviously I am not including the outlet stores seen in a few locations around the US.
I started thinking about that in view of John C Dvorak's recent column and while reading the bio of Steve Jobs, a Christmas gift from my wife. How far could Apple expand its product line?
Some Dots To Connect -- Sort of Related to the Bakken, North Dakota, USA
As usual for this site, some numbers rounded --
First dot: North Sea tax grab blamed for record slump in UK oil and gas production -- four days ago
First dot: North Sea tax grab blamed for record slump in UK oil and gas production -- four days ago
UK natural gas production in the third quarter of 2011 slumped to the lowest level since records began in 1996, ... This also represented the largest year-on-year quarterly decrease ever seen, ... down 30 percent year-over-year ...
Oil production fell 20 percent in the third quarter compared to the same period last year, the largest annual quarterly drop since reporting for oil began in 1995.
Total UK energy production fell by 20 pecent in the third quarter, the biggest year-on-year fall recorded since the data for the entire sector was first compiled in 2000.
Second dot: Brazil ready to double oil output -- ten months agoIndustry body Oil & Gas UK suggested the surprise imposition of a £2bn-a-year tax hike in the March Budget contributed to the greater-than-expected decline.
Petrobras is set to rapidly increase in size in relation to Brazil’s economy as it prepares to double domestic oil production through the development of its recently discovered huge “pre-salt” fields, said Jose Sergio Gabrielli, chief executive.
Brazil’s national oil company, which plans to invest $224bn in capital expenditure by 2014, will need to issue a further $30bn-$40bn in debt during the next three to four years, Mr Gabrielli said. The plans also envisage a more than 50 per cent increase in refinery output.
Sixth dot: actions have consequences. Some say this is the first rule of life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)