Drillsites are selected based on a number of factors including availability of land suitable for drilling, city permits, proximity to buildings, parks and other infrastructure, geologic considerations, proximity to natural gas pipelines, feasibility of installing new pipelines if necessary, environmental impact, and the location of wetlands, floodplains, wildlife habitats and archeological sites. Chesapeake’s lease position in the Haynesville Shale area is also a consideration. Ultimately, energy companies strive to select sites that are least-intrusive to daily life.
Minor short-term disruptions may occur on-site. There can be noise, dust and traffic. Like any typical construction project, however, the majority of residents will experience few, if any, changes to daily life. Drilling practices are designed to have the smallest possible impact on the environment, and new pipelines pose no more danger than the common public natural gas lines that already service most neighborhoods.
The drilling process begins with padsite preparation which typically lasts approximately two weeks, depending on the location. Next, the set-up of the rig and the drilling of the well will take approximately six to seven weeks per well. Multiple wells are sometimes drilled from a single padsite. Although the rig is the most visible part of our operations, it is temporary and will be removed once drilling is completed. Once the layer of rock that holds the natural gas (pay zone) is reached, the well will be completed and prepped for production. Even with multiple-well padsites, the entire process frequently takes less than the building of a house or commercial building in the same area.
During the approximate six weeks of drilling, operations run continuously 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The completion process takes approximately 14 days per well.
Multiple measures are in place to ensure that drilling operations are environmentally sensitive. In urban areas, operators work with communities to determine truck routes and implement security measures.
As with any construction site, there will be additional truck traffic for setting up and taking down the equipment. After wells are completed, the company will return to monitor and maintain the site.
At some wellsites, trucks may return to remove naturally occurring water, which is separated from natural gas and stored in on-site tanks.
A typical padsite is three to five acres in size.
Once drilling is complete, storage tanks and other production equipment is installed and the wellsites are fenced for security. In many cases, Chesapeake makes additional improvements to the area surrounding the drillsite. Because of these improvements, completed wellsites are frequently more appealing than other utilitarian structures like water pump houses or electrical stations.
Chesapeake has a state-of-the-art cementing and casing program that protects freshwater aquifers from drilling activities. The vertical portion of the wellbore is normally drilled with freshwater and mud. Steel casing and surrounding layers of concrete are then installed as layers of protection separating the fluids inside and outside of the casing and preventing each from contacting each other. The depth at which the surface casing must extend is mandated by the applicable state regulatory agencies. In Haynesville Shale operations, the surface casing is typically set to a depth of approximately 1,800 feet, a depth well below the freshwater aquifer.
Additional strings of casing and tubing are eventually set through the aquifers to provide an even greater separation between the gas stream and the freshwater aquifer. The five layers of steel and cement, which go into the construction of a natural gas well, virtually eliminate the possibility of contamination of any freshwater zones.