A New California Oil Boom? Drilling the Monterey Shale
Part 1: Distracted by Fracking?
[ http://thenextgeneration.org/blog/post/ ... y-fracking ]
08.08.2013 By Robert Collier Energy & Climate
Tags california fracking monterey shale oil acidization acidizing matrix acidizing
This is the first installment of a special series looking at the potential climate and public health implications of a boom in Monterey Shale production.
Over the past few years, the United States has found itself in the midst of a major boom in oil and gas production. Rapid expansion in the use of a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” has opened up previously unreachable pockets of oil and gas, and returned the U.S. to its historic position as a major global producer of these fossil fuels.
Download Part 1 Of The Series
[ http://thenextgeneration.org/blog/post/ ... y-fracking ]
And it seems the boom may be coming to California. Once a leading producer of oil in the U.S., California’s production has fallen off dramatically over the years as oil fields age and are depleted. But could America’s fracking-fueled oil resurgence breach the oil fields of California, particularly in the relatively untapped Monterey Shale? Could a fracking revolution once again make California a leading producer of domestic oil? And if so, what might this mean for the state’s aggressive clean energy and climate goals?
Given the dramatic examples of North Dakota, Texas and Pennsylvania, where widespread use of fracking has helped oil and gas production soar, it might seem inevitable for California to be the next boom state. The Monterey Shale formation, which runs from north-central through southern California, has billions of barrels of oil locked away in its underground nooks and crannies. Petroleum geologists and engineers, always searching for the next strike, are feverishly seeking the technological fix to unlock those riches.
Politically, it’s the same fight as elsewhere – environmental regulations have been drafted, legislation written and fought over, Hollywood films made, coalitions pro and con organized -- all focused on the potential benefits, and threats, of widespread fracking.
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[ http://thenextgeneration.org/blog/post/ ... y-fracking ]
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'Acidizing' Oil Wells -- Bigger Than Fracking?
[ http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/08/12/acid ... -fracking/ ]
David Baker, Fuel Fix August 13, 2013
Anyone following the spread of fracking in California should check out an interesting — and frustrating — report this week from former San Francisco Chronicle journalist Rob Collier. [ http://thenextgeneration.org/blog/post/ ... y-fracking ]
It’s about “acidizing,” an oil production technique that involves pouring large amounts of hydrofluoric or hydrochloric acid down wells. Collier argues that it could be more effective than hydraulic fracturing as a way to unlock the Monterey Shale, an immense rock formation beneath central...
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[ http://fuelfix.com/blog/2013/08/12/acid ... -fracking/ ]
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Fracking's More Dangerous Bedfellow: Acidizing
[ http://readersupportednews.org/news-sec ... -acidizing ]
By Robert Collier, The Next Generation
03 September 13
This is the first installment of a special series looking at the potential climate and public health implications of a boom in Monterey Shale production.
ver the past few years, the United States has found itself in the midst of a major boom in oil and gas production. Rapid expansion in the use of a drilling technique called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," has opened up previously unreachable pockets of oil and gas, and returned the U.S. to its historic position as a major global producer of these fossil fuels.
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