What is a natural gas well pad?
Well pad means area, under the control of an oil or natural gas company, occupied by equipment or facilities necessary or required for the drilling, production or plugging of an oil or natural gas well.
How are natural gas wells constructed?
A well is drilled straight down into the ground beneath the pad. The first stage is to drill what is called the surface hole down to a depth of 100 feet below the deepest known aquifer. A steel casing is then cemented in place so there is no risk of polluting precious water aquifers.
How does a well pad work?
Pad sites allow multiple wells to be drilled from one surface lease, thereby reducing the total surface area required for oil and gas development. Once drilling is completed and the well(s) is/are connected/tied-in to the pipeline, a portion of the lease area can be reclaimed to minimize surface disturbance.
How big is a well pad?
Typically a new well drilled in the WNF will require, on average, a 0.69-acre well-pad area (150 by 200 ft.) to be cleared and leveled.
What is a gas well?
A gas well is a well for obtaining natural gas. Gas wells are wells drilled specifically for natural gas, and contain little or no oil. A gas well is a flowing well producing mainly gaseous hydrocarbons.
What does drilling pad mean?
A drilling pad is a location which houses the wellheads for a number of horizontally drilled wells. The benefit of a drilling pad is that operators can drill multiple wells in a shorter time than they might with just one well per site.
What is the typical natural gas well depth?
Drilling continues vertically, creating a well approximately 6,000 feet (~1,828 m) deep. The depth of the well will vary by region and formation. In the Marcellus Shale the well is then drilled horizontally an average of 10,000 more feet (~3,048 meters).
Can I drill my own natural gas well?
That’s legal in many jurisdictions under what’s called the “rule of capture,” meaning anything you can produce from a well on your property is yours, even if it drains from somewhere else. If your neighbors don’t like it, they can drill their own wells—unless, of course, they’re too late.
What is a multi well pad?
Pad drilling, sometimes called multi-well pad drilling, is a drilling practice that allows multiple wellbores to be drilled from a single pad. With a low-priced environment, oil and gas operators are trying to squeeze maximum value for their investments with bigger well pads and longer laterals.
What is a fracking pad?
Frac pads are where the drilling or fracking process is done to extract oil and gas from the ground. Frac pad liners, also known as containment liners, are used to prevent any type of contaminants from seeping into the ground.
How many wells are in a pad?
While a single pad can house as many as 10 to 12 wells, oil companies are finding the “sweet spot” is between four and six wells per pad.
How big is the surface area of a well pad?
If multiple wells from a single pad are planned, the surface area of the lease site would be larger; in some cases as much as double the size. (100 metres by 200 metres.)
Why choose our pad design and engineering experience?
Our pad design and engineering experience does not stop at the ground level, but extends to the process planning and site equipment design, as well.
What happens after the well pad is prepared?
After the well pad is properly prepared the drilling rig is then unloaded and assembled. There are many rig designs, and this booklet does not cover each type individually.
How does a multi-well pad site affect the surface area?
While a multi-well pad site will have a larger surface area, the cumulative surface impact of the total number of wells drilled in the project area will be smaller. Pad sites allow multiple wells to be drilled from one surface lease, thereby reducing the total surface area required for oil and gas development.