Drilling giants look to chemical innovations to improve fracking

The next great leap in oil production won’t come from new, massive drilling machines that can reach for miles underground, but rather from scientists working with beakers, blenders and goo. As The Houston Chronicle reports, the biggest names in drilling are putting their money on chemistry, focusing on creating new molecules and chemical combinations that can squeeze more oil and gas out of underground rocks. “If we can get more out than anyone else … then that’s how we win,” says Gregory Powers, vice president of technology for Halliburton. With teams of scientists working in laboratories around the world, energy companies are testing chemicals that can be used in hydraulic fracturing fluids to cut down environmental strain, reduce costs and ratchet up profits. They are manipulating molecules, blending fluids and blasting the combinations into rock samples to test their effectiveness. Chemical advancements offer great opportunity to boost oil and gas production because they can help draw more hydrocarbons out of rocks that have been fractured using modern drilling techniques, says Jim Bruton, vice president of research and engineering for a chemistry-focused subsidiary of Schlumberger. Even the cutting-edge drilling techniques, however, incorporate decades-old additives into hydraulic fracturing fluids that include mostly water and sand, Powers says, opening the door for chemical innovation. Recent chemical advances are allowing oil companies to reach deeper into underground rocks, helping to clear wells of gunk that can restrict the flow of desirable products, and even offering the capability to use magnetically charged particles to track which portions of a well are producing best, experts says. Read the full story here.