--> Why the Bacterial Genetics of the Water Used to Frac Matters

AAPG Rocky Mountain Section Meeting

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Why the Bacterial Genetics of the Water Used to Frac Matters

Abstract

Biocide was used to “kill” the bacteria living in the water you pumped during the Frac. The shale formation that you Frac’ed into was pristine and “sterile” before the Frac Treatment. What’s this? Now the flowback water from your newly completed well is teeming with bacteria!? Core samples examined under Scanning Electron Microscope show that microbes are covering the shale particles in the formerly sterile formation!? What happened? This presentation will discuss the microbial mechanisms that are responsible for the transfer of genetic information into the formation during Frac’ing operations. Using case studies from work performed in the Piceance Basin of Western Colorado, the presentation will explain how the microbiome of the water gathering and storage systems have a profound effect upon the species of bacteria that emerge in the formation after the Frac.