The crust (click here) ranges from 5–70 km (~3–44 miles) in depth and is the outermost layer. The thinnest parts are oceanic crust, while the thicker parts are continental crust. Most rocks at the Earth’s surface are relatively young (less than 100 million years old, compared to the Earth’s age, which is approximately 4,4 billion years), but since we found some rocks which are much older, we know that Earth has had a solid crust for at least 4.4 billion years....
The crust is where human beings live. The crust of Earth varies in thickness. The thinnest part is considered to be at the ocean's bottom. Approximately three miles thick. 12,000 feet is slightly more than 2.2 miles. That means offshore oil rigs are nearly touching the upper layers of Earth's mantle, the asthenosphere. The Deepwater Horizon was that type of rig.
The well in the Tiber field has a vertical depth of 35,050 ft (10,683 m) and a measured depth of 35,055 ft (10,685 m), below 4,132 ft (1,259 m) of water. The well was the deepest oil well in the world,
The Deepwater Horizon's drill went through 4,132 feet (a mile is 5280 feet) of water to reach the ocean floor and then drilled 35,050 feet into Earth's crust. 35,050 feet is over 6.6 miles. This is insane. The petroleum industry is drilling deeper and deeper because all the more shallow oil locations are dried up. This is desperate and crazy.
Depending on the rig type, (click here)) offshore rigs are rated to drill in water depths as shallow as 80 feet to as great as 12,000 feet. The greatest water depth a jackup can drill in is 550 feet, and many newer units have a rated drilling depth of 35,000 feet. On the floating rig side, the deepest water depth in existence today is 12,000 feet. A handful of these rigs have a rated drilling depth of 50,000 feet, but most of the newer units are rated at 40,000 feet.
The deepest well drilled in the Bakken formation (click here) is:
- 23532, 527, CLR, Louisville 2-9H, Last Chance, t2/13; cum 12K 3/13; total depth: 26,555 feet; NWSW 10-153-100, runs east-to-west, sections 9/8/7-153-100 (it is sited just inside section 10); it runs under the river. Section 8 is entirely under the river. 44 stages; 3.65 million lbs, sand and ceramic.
26,555 feet is 5 miles deep. That means the crust of the Earth in the North American craton. The Bakken's wells are playing a part in the earthquake that occurred across the North America craton into Iowa. The depth of drilling is extreme no differently the Deepwater Horizon in the Gulf of Mexico. The other more superficial oil and gas fields are dried up, so desperate oil barons simply don't care. The CEO of BP didn't care and 11 people died. They are focused on one thing, money.
The North America craton was the most stable continental formation on Earth. That changed with the greed driven seismic activity that stretched from Oklahoma to Iowa.
See, the instability occurs at both ends of the activity.
The Pawnee quake was 4.5 km (2.8 miles) depth (click here) I believe the innumerable holes in the Earth's crust in the North America craton is what spawned the continuous crack this time. Drilling deeper and more often of Earth's crust is not the answer to responsible energy. This mess should have ended a long time ago. The USA military uses a combination fuel for it's jets because the leaders saw the finite quantity of oil and gas. Jets don't run on coal.
The only reasonable answer at this point is for the fracking industry to be examined and assessed to it's damage to our country's lands.
The wells that were suppose to be the answer to contaminated fracking water obviously are not the answer at all. Every well drilled with waste water instilled needs to be sampled for the level of corrosive content. The water needs to be removed safely. There will be some water that cannot be siphoned out so neutralizing solutions will have to be instilled where the water used to be in hopes it will reach the corrosive water. Hopefully the 'antidote' solution will end the corrosive nature of the wells danger to the land. These lousy wells have arms that go east, west, north and south and any combination possible.
The corrosive nature of the water has to be neutralized. Hopefully, we can end this danger and such seismic activity will end. But, the fracking industry is over. It is PROVEN by the very industry itself it is too dangerous to provide any valuable product to the American landscape.
Yes, the USA is not left with the demand for a changing energy scheme that will no longer include any fracking wells.
I am grateful to President Obama and the US Congress for their investment into alternative sources of energy, it has never been so insightful. The USA will need more alternative energy sources in the future while the market for oil and gas degrades to an industry grossly outdated without the technology to make it safe. Fracking was never safe. NOW, the American people finally understand the truth being spoken by scientists for the past few decades.
THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED!
