posted on Apr, 3 2008 @ 08:23 AM
I might be able to answer as I used to work for a well service company.
First your talking about two different things. one we do what's called a hydro frac to improve well flow that's not done with water but rather a mix
of sand and gel... I'll talk more about that in a second...
the other thing we do to pressurize a well is to pump Nitrogen and CO2 down into the oil bearing layer. the gas is very cold and in liquid form so as
it heats and expands it pressurizes the field...
Okay now oil if not down in some deep cave... the earth is made up in layers and the layer that traps oil tends to be a sediment layer...kind of like
a sponge... the earth above that layer puts pressure on that sponge and when you put a pipe into it you get oil flowing out....
Now these layers are not always perfect so a company will come in and under great pressure (I've seen up to 10,000 psi) pump in an artificial layer
of sand... the pressure cracks the earth injects the sand and creates a layer for the oil to flow much easier...
no one whats to drill into a cave... Up in Wyoming I worked on a rig where at 24,000 feet we drilled into a cave complex and all we got back was H2S a
poison gas...
if you want a real conspiracy then look back at the records for the 70's and 80's... thousands of gas and oil well's were drilled throughout the
western US then capped... for a while there it cost more to pump out the oil than what it was worth... the government basically paid oil companies to
sink new wells and they did... but never pumped them... I should know as I worked on the crew that went on and capped those wells...
Anyway there's no problem with some huge cave ready to swallow a city...
But there are places in the world where coal mine fires have cause the ground to sink and heat up...
Vid of Frac job
[edit on 3-4-2008 by DaddyBare]
[edit on 3-4-2008 by DaddyBare]
[edit on 3-4-2008 by DaddyBare]