8/24/23, 3:03 PM The seven steps of oil and natural gas extraction

THE SEVEN STEPS OF OIL

  

AND NATURAL GAS

EXTRACTION
By Dr. C. Mark Pearson
I’ve been an engineer and manager for more than 35 years. When I talk to my friends and family
about my job, I find that most of them don’t understand how the oil and natural gas extraction
process works. Everyone talks about fracking, but that’s only one step of a larger process.
Check out the seven steps of oil and natural gas extraction below:

STEP 1: PREPARING THE RIG SITE

The aboveground infrastructure—pads and access roads—are built, setting up the land for the
next step: drilling. From start to finish, everything from traffic plans and designated access
roads to noise barriers and safety procedures is carefully planned and monitored according to
state and local laws.

STEP 2: DRILLING
First the drill rig is brought to the location—maybe 20 or 30 truck loads—and put together. Now
It’s time to build the infrastructure necessary to unlock the oil and natural gas trapped more
than a mile below the ground. A well is drilled straight down into the ground beneath the pad.
https://www.cred.org/seven-steps-of-oil-and-natural-gas-extraction/ 1/4
8/24/23, 3:03 PM The seven steps of oil and natural gas extraction

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.
After this the “long hole” is drilled and after reaching a depth about 1000 feet above the
underground area where oil and natural gas is trapped, the hole is directionally steered to turn it
horizontal and out—maybe another mile or two in distance—following the same rock bed.
There’s a phenomenal amount of technology required to keep the hole drilling in the same 10-
foot-interval for two miles, but this process allows the well to access oil and natural gas across a
longer distance rather than just the energy directly beneath the well pad.

Unlike vertical drilling, horizontal drilling minimizes the impact and scale of aboveground land
disturbance by allowing drillers to use only one drill pad for multiple wells instead of multiple
pads having a single well each. These technological advancements mean today’s well sites are
far fewer in number and also smaller than they used to be just 10 or 20 years ago.

STEP 3: CEMENTING AND TESTING

Once the target distance is reached, the drill pipe is removed and steel pipe is pushed to the
bottom. This “well casing” is cemented in place. Rigorous tests are performed to ensure the
pipe is impermeable before any production of natural gas or oil can occur.

STEP 4: WELL COMPLETION

Before drillers can tap the oil and natural gas, a perforating gun is typically lowered into the
ground and fired into the rock layer in the deepest part of the well, creating holes that connect
the rock holding the oil and natural gas and the wellhead.

STEP 5: FRACKING
Now that the first stage of the well is open, it’s time to unlock the oil and natural gas that has
been trapped in the rock. Using specialized instruments to monitor pressure and data from the
well in real time, fracking fluid, which is 99.5% water and sand and 0.5% chemicals, many of
which are found in everyday household products, is pumped at high pressure through the
perforating holes to create paper-thin cracks in the shale rock, freeing the oil and natural gas
trapped inside.
The cycles of steps 4 and 5 are repeated, gradually working up the hole until all the lateral
length of the wellbore has been fracked. This might be 20 or 30 times—but a process that
typically takes only a few days to finish.

STEP 6: PRODUCTION AND FRACKING FLUID RECYCLING

Once fracking is completed, production begins. Oil and natural gas flows up from the well bore
and fracturing fluid is then recovered and recycled and used in other fracking operations.
https://www.cred.org/seven-steps-of-oil-and-natural-gas-extraction/ 2/4
8/24/23, 3:03 PM The seven steps of oil and natural gas extraction

  

Once fracking is complete, the production site shrinks to the size of about a two-car garage.

STEP 7: WELL ABANDONMENT AND LAND RESTORATION

When all of the recovered oil and natural gas has been produced, Colorado law requires that the
well is permanently plugged and the land is returned to the way it was before the drilling
operations started. The land can then be used for other activities and there is no sign that a well
was once there.
Producing Colorado’s oil and natural gas energy is something that can be done safely while
contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the state’s tax base.

Dr. C. Mark Pearson studied mining engineering at the Camborne School of Mines (UK) where he
received his BS degree, and later a PhD for his studies on the application of fracking to
geothermal energy extraction. He has since worked in the oil and natural gas industry for over 35
years working projects all around the world. From 1995-1997, he was a professor in the
Petroleum Engineering Department at the Colorado School of Mines.

Learn More!
Want to learn more about fracking? What is in fracking fluid? How much water does
fracking use? Click here to get the facts on fracking in Colorado – from our state’s stringent
regulations to how it powers our economy and supports our communities.

RELATED CONTENT

What would you ask if

How long does fracking
you visited a fracking What is fracking fluid?
last?
site?

Please contact us to learn more!

https://www.cred.org/seven-steps-of-oil-and-natural-gas-extraction/ 3/4