The hydraulic fracture treatment in Syczyn was performed in a layer of shale rock lying 2,700 metres below ground. The number and reach of the induced fractures was determined with the use of microseismic measurement technology. The next step will be to carry out a production test, as part of which detailed gas flow parameters will be monitored and recorded.

 

- The hydraulic fracturing treatment at the Syczyn site was a meticulously designed operation. The scale of the undertaking is demonstrated by the fact that we had to use 18 pumping units delivering a total of 45,000 horsepower, as well as supporting equipment. We chose a fracking method that uses almost pure water and quartz sand. The operation is a very important step in evaluating the resources of the Wierzbica licence area. It was completed safely, without disruptions, and on schedule. We will formulate conclusions on the results of the work after measurement operations have been completed and the measurement data has been thorougly analysed - said Wiesław Prugar, President of the ORLEN Upstream Management Board.

PKN ORLEN commenced its drilling operations in Syczyn back in late 2011. Three hundred metres of core samples were collected for analysis at the time. The results were encouraging enough to prompt a decision to carry on with the programme, as part of which another vertical well with a horizontal section of 4,100 metres was drilled in the autumn of 2012. In line with adopted strategy, in the coming years PKN ORLEN will intensify its exploration efforts with a view to extracting both conventional and unconventional hydrocarbons. To date, the Company has drilled a total of seven shale gas exploration wells, including five vertical and two horizontal. The Company is set to continue its drilling programme in other locations in the second half of 2013 and to perform its second hydraulic fracturing treatment on the lateral of a well in Berejów, on the Lubartów licence area, in Niedźwiada commune. A procedure to select the contractor to perform the treatment is in progress.

Hydraulic fracturing is a technologically advanced, well-established element of exploration programmes, without which gas shale extraction would not be possible. Hydraulic fracturing involves injecting fracturing fluid into the well at high pressure to crack the rock and hold the cracks open with proppant material (quartz sand, for instance). The induced fractures in the rock allow gas to migrate to the wellbore and up to the surface. Hydraulic fracturing is performed only once in the life of a well.