Re-Fracking

Since my last blog was about the future of fracking I felt it was very relevant to follow with re-fracking as many believe this could dramatically influence what happens in the industry in the next few years.

Typically a fracking well only extracts 12% of the oil or gas available meaning almost 90% is left in the ground. The process of re-fracking takes away the need to drill and frack a new well, instead the energy company can simply re-frack the same well at 25% of the cost to untap the trapped oil and gas left behind from the first attempt. With better knowledge, technology and equipment the costs and potential of this process are set to largely improve in the next few years.

One of the first companies to try this technique is Marathon Oil Corp (MOC) in 2014. They have stated that the re-fracked wells have outperformed all expectations thus far and so many other energy companies are now attempting to follow in their footsteps.

 Source.

US shale oil production is set to peak in 2020 but re-fracking could rejuvenate the industry and increase the yield of old wells. This is now common enough in the US to warrant a nickname – if a well is fracked five times it is called a “cinco de fraco.” It is estimated that there are around 100,000 wells that could be re-stimulated and that 3000 will be re-fracked in the US alone within the next 2 years.

This process is still in the early stages however, so there are many unknown risks associated with it. For example, it is unclear whether or not re-fracking will cause damage to the well allowing gas to escape which could potentially cause increased groundwater pollution.