dbmtrx123

Damn, don't put all of your eggs in one basket.

Geologist here. I work for an oil and gas production company in the Appalachian Basin. State institutions such as; Oil & Gas Boards, Departments of Environment and Conservation, etc., and Federal institutions like the EPA have set up guidelines that prevent this from happening. In my area, the hydrocarbon reservoirs are relatively shallow ~1000' - 4000' in total vertical depth (TVD) and the water table is generally down to about 400' TVD. At these shallow depths a frac will propagate horizontally due to less vertical pressure from the over lying rock than horizontal pressure (as you are displacing rock in the vertical direction). This means there is no risk of connecting with the water table. In very deep reservoirs where a frac may propagate in an inclined or vertical manor there is no real risk of connecting with the water table because of the great distances the frac would have to reach towards the surface.

I enjoy being a company geologist; however, my company is quite small so I "wear many hats". Having said that, I am exposed more to planning, leasing, permitting, drilling, completions and production than others may be. Other than the geological aspects, I enjoy this aspect of my job the most.

I do live in the Appalachian Basin. Most of my days are spent in the office, and the work days of course can be quite long. During drilling operations I do go out to the rig and I will mud log our wells personally if we do not contract another company. 24/7 drilling operations can be quite taxing due to the fact that I'm usually at the rig (well site coordinator, mud logging, or whatever hat I am wearing at the time). I believe larger companies are more compartmentalized and may focus your energy into more specific areas... and you may even have normal(ish) work weeks!

Good luck going back to school!

Out of curiosity, have you read "Thomas Jefferson: Author of America" by Christopher Hitchens? If so, what do you think of his portrayal of Mr. Jefferson, in modern terms, as a man defined by contradiction?

When we do a frac job, almost all that goes down the hole are fresh water, sand and nitrogen. The companies that do the frac often add a coagulant to the water which helps push the sand into the formation and keeps the sand from sinking to the bottom of the well. This coagulant is usually a mixture of chemicals that is proprietary to the company who manufactures it. Almost all of the water, nitrogen and coagulant are then flowed back out of the well into tanks leaving sand in the formation. If anything besides sand is left, it is usually pumped out during the next few days of production.