A Comprehensive Guide to Different Fracturing Technologies: A Review

• Published in: Energies (Basel) Vol. 13; no. 13; p. 3326
• Main Authors: Liew, M. S., Danyaro, Kamaluddeen Usman, Zawawi, Noor Amila Wan Abdullah
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-07-2020
• Subjects: Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Crude oil prices; different hydraulic fracturing; Economic conditions; Electric arcs; guide to different fracturing technologies; Hydraulic fracturing; Literature reviews; Methanogenesis; Natural gas; natural gas extraction technologies; Oil and gas industry; Shale; Shale gas; shale gas extraction technologies; Canada; Asia; United States > US
• ISSN: 1996-1073; 1996-1073
• DOI: 10.3390/en13133326

Hydraulic fracturing has made the production of gas more economical. Shale gas possesses the potential to arise as a main natural gas source worldwide. It has been assessed that the top 42 countries, including the U.S., are predicted to own 7299 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of technically recoverable shale gas resources. The main goal of this paper is to serve as a guide of different shale gas extraction methods. The significance of these methods and possible pros and cons are determined. Each technique was explained with the support of literature review. Specifically, this paper revealed that some fracking methods such as pulsed arc electrohydraulic discharges (PAED), plasma stimulation and fracturing technology (PSF), thermal (cryogenic) fracturing, enhanced bacterial methanogenesis, and heating of rock mass are at the concept stage for conventional and other unconventional resources. Thus, these found to be significant for stimulating natural gas wells, which provides very good production results. This paper also discovered that fracking remains the recommended technique used by the oil and gas industries.