Fracking for the Dummy Committee

To the "other end" of the rock?

It's been said that the moose is a deer designed by a committee; a reference to the animal's somewhat bizarre appearance... although no one ever chased by a 1200-pound animal that can run 35 MPH is concerned about its appearance! But we digress. The point being, we suspect, that something created by most committees is going to look substandard at best. That just might be the problem with content written by Paul Mike John of EzineArticles.com: a committee approach combines the knowledge of the three guys¹ but instead exacerbates the combined ignorance. Just look at "Fracking for Oil: How Does It Work?" and you'll see what we mean.

PMJ, as we call the author, pounded out about ten fracking-related posts in just a single day back in 2011, one of which we've already flagged as rank bullshit. This one is no better; in fact it may be worse. With no further ado, then, let's see what misinformation and downright stupidity the boys had to share:

• "...with the increasing attention for the so-called [sic] Marcellus Shale, oil companies are sparking up conversations for new sources of employment by means of fracking for oil." – First, "Marcellus Shale" is the formation's name, not "so-called." Second, the Marcellus doesn't produce oil. Third, WTF is "sparking up conversations"?
• "Fracking for oil is done on either natural fractures on rocks or the fractures can be made by carefully drilling through the stone surface, causing a crack where the natural gases can be exposed." – We suppose some frack jobs are intended to enhance natural fractures, but we have no earthly idea what "drilling through the stone surface" and "natural gases can be exposed" might mean.
• "Once the crack has been found or created, it is extended by means of the internal fluid pressure and it allows the crack to run down to the other end of the rock." – WTF is this "other end of the rock"? Does this putz envision a big underground boulder or some such thing?
• "There are fractures such as the once on ice, sills and igneous dikes. For the man made ones, a hole is created and the fractures created within the depths and are extended. " – We dare you to parse that pair of sentences!

• "The aim of hydraulic fracturing is to improve or even restore the rate where the fluids like water and oil as well as natural gases can be formed in natural reservoirs..." – Wait, this gomer wants to "form" fluids in natural reservoirs? He'd better be prepared to wait a while...
• "The depth where these resources could be lurking do not have any permeable areas where it can naturally flow up." – Sorry, PMJ, low permeability isn't necessarily a function of depth. Shale is impermeable even 100 feet from the surface!

There's more, of course, and the verbiage is equally fractured (see what we did there?). We suspect, however, that even the few phrases reproduced above are sufficient to give Paul Mike John a chair on the stage for the next round of Dumbass of the Day award presentations. Come on down...

¹ Given the platform, it's probable that "Paul Mike John" is actually some South Asian kid writing under an assumed name instead of a trio of dolts from central Pennsylvania...

SI - FRACKING