Slickwater fracturing in the Barnett Shale
Fracturación con agua deslizante (slickwater) en la lutita de Barnett
- Date
- 1997-1998 · confidence medium
- Place
- Fort Worth Basin, Texas, United States
- Credited to
- Mitchell Energy (George Mitchell, Nick Steinsberger)
- Field
- Matter & energy
What it is
Mitchell Energy pumped low-viscosity water with additives and much sand into Barnett Shale wells and extracted gas from a rock previously considered impermeable. Combined with horizontal drilling, it opened up shale gas and oil production.
The breakthrough, after almost two decades of Mitchell trials, came with the slickwater formula of 1997-1998.
What it led to
- the US shale gas boom
- falling gas prices and displacement of coal
- environmental debates on fracking