2. Hydraulic Fracturing Analysis Ohio DNR （2。）.pdfVIP

Expert Panel Report: Bainbridge Township Subsurface Gas Invasion 2. Hydraulic Fracturing 2. Hydraulic Fracturing Analysis The expert panel quickly recognized that more field work was needed to address Disputed Issues Nos. 2, 3, and 4, which deal with the consequences of the purported hydraulically- created fractures in the Ohio Shale and deeper geologic formations. Disputed Issue No. 1, which concerns the purported hydraulic fracturing of the “Big Lime” and the Ohio Shale, could be addressed in the meantime using the existing data. The goal of this quantitative approach was to calculate the potential for creating hydraulic fractures in the Ohio Shale and “Big Lime” based on well-established, field-verified equations used in the petroleum engineering industry. Up to this point, no quantitative analysis of the potential for hydraulically fracturing the Ohio Shale or “Big Lime” had been performed by the DMRM or EA. This chapter presents the quantitative analysis performed by the expert panel. Fundamentals of Hydraulic Fracturing The principal difference in the two hypotheses under consideration is the nature and extent of any fractures that may have been created by the overpressurization of the English #1 gas well surface-production casing annulus. Therefore, a review of the fundamental relations governing the creation of fractures by an imposed pressure is in order. “Fractures will always propagate along the path of least resistance. In a three-dimensional stress regime, a fracture will propagate so as to avoid the greatest stress and will create width in a direction that requires the least force. This means that a fracture will propagate parallel to the greatest principal stress and perpendicular to the plane o