Posted on 08/18/2015 8:44:24 AM PDT by thackney
Denmark's first potential fracing project has been cancelled, as France's Total said it is pulling out of its shale gas exploration project in northern Denmark after failing to discover adequate deposits.
Insufficient Deposits The Danish Energy Ministry said late Monday that the French supermajor's shale gas exploration in the Vendsyssel district in northern Jutland has been permanently shutdown. Total said it did not encounter sufficient shale gas deposits to render its efforts worthwhile, hence shutting down what would have been Denmark's first fracing project ever.
The Energy Agency said in a press release, "The drilling results have not fulfilled the company’s expectations to the reservoir conditions and seam thickness. There will therefore be no further work with the drilling, which is now shut down permanently."
Total said the shale gas reserves discovered in northern Jutland were approximately 131 feet thick. That's about half as thick at what would be required for extraction.
Monday's announcement follows Total's May decision to quit shale gas exploration in northern New Zealand due to similar issues.
No New Shale Gas Projects Anytime Soon The site in northern Jutland has been a center of controversy since local officials granted Total approval to engage in shale gas exploration in June 2014 despite protests from the local community and environmentalist groups.
In May, the Danish Energy Agency ordered Total to stop drilling after it was discovered that the company had utilized Null Foam in its work despite it not being approved as part of the environmental impact assessment of the local authorities. Total was allowed to resume drilling a week later after the supermajor pledged "no future mistakes."
Denmark's Energy and Climate Minister Lars Christian Lilleholt said Monday that no new shale gas projects will be granted approval in the country any time soon.
“A temporary stop to new applications for shale gas has been implemented and that will continue to apply. That means that new applicants as of now can not receive permission for new shale gas drilling,” Lilleholt told local news outlet TV2.
However, Total's license runs through June 2016 and the company said it is considering engaging in new shale gas projects in northern Jutland.
"We now need to make some considerations on what we will do from here. There are two options: either one continues with new test drilling in a new location or one stops," Total spokesman Henrik Nicolaisen told news agency Ritzau. He added that the company has already invested about $44 million on its Vendsyssel exploration.
Read The Danish Energy Agency's Statement: As operator of license 1/10, Total E&P Denmark B.V. has drilled the exploration well Vendsyssel-1 (5710/22-2) in the northern part of Jytland close to Dybvad. Vendsyssel-1 was drilled as a vertical data acquisition well with the Alum Shales as target.
The well confirmed the presence of gas in the Alum Shales of Upper Cambrium to Lower Ordovicien age, but the thickness of the layer was smaller than expected. Coring was undertaken and data were acquired for further characterization of the Alum Shales.
Vendsyssel-1 was spudded on 4 May 2015 with the rig SMP 105 at the position 57° 17' 05" N; 10° 16' 11" E (UTM zone 32; 6,349,736.61 m N; 576,460.30 m E). The well terminated in sandstone of Upper Cambrian to Lower Ordovician age at a depth of 3564.35 meters below terrain, corresponding to 3543 meters below mean sea level.
The results didn’t fulfil the partnerships expectations to reservoir properties and thickness of layers. No further work will be performed in the well, which is now being permanently plugged and abandoned.
Those folks need to be informed that there is a “k” in the word “fracking”, lest it be pronounced like “bracing”.
Yet the procedure is done with “frac sand” not “frack sand.”
Wow. It’s all about Battlestar Galactica!
Not really. Thanks for the link.
Actually, there are a lot of folks in the industry that point out there is no “K” in Fracturing and the shorten version should not have it either.
It has been argued over for years.
http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/12/23/is-it-fracking-or-fracing/
Funny we both sent the same link, sorry about that. You can find lots of discussion on the topic without any resolution.
http://www.ctrmcenter.com/blog/fracking/
I found Oil & Gas Journal articles back in the 1990s using Fracking while many in the actual industry still leave out the “K”.
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