Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) – The Basics

What is fracking and how does it work?

High-volume hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking” is the process by which natural gas and oil is extracted from shale rock formations. High-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) has been made possible by the combination of two existing technologies—horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Wells are drilled down to the shale formation, and then run horizontally through the shale (See Figure 1). Large volumes of water mixed with sand and chemicals are then forced into the well, holding open the fractures in the rock and allowing the oil and natural gas to leave the shale and travel up the well where it is collected.

HVHF is an example of unconventional natural gas drilling because the fossil fuels are being extracted directly from the shale. Conventional drilling is only able to extract fossil fuels from underground reservoirs of oil and gas.

 What are some of the implications of this technology for energy in America?

The good news:

  • More domestic energy
  • Lower prices and increased availability of fossil fuels

The bad news:

  • Concern over local environmental impacts has led to public protests in almost every area where such drilling has occurred or might occur in the future.
  • Globally: increasing the use of fossil fuels has potential implications for climate change.
  • The lower prices and increased availability of fossil fuels disincentives the development and use of alternative energies like wind and solar power.

Some argue that the best way forward is to look case-by-case for the least harmful way of developing and distributing energy.

Others argue that environmental harm from unconventional drilling has been exaggerated.

Either way, hydraulic fracturing is a complicated issue that many communities in the US have faced at a local level. But this issue also has implications for all of us as Americans and as human beings on this planet. It is important to become informed about the hydraulic fracturing process and the potentially harmful impacts it can have. This resource focuses on one specific issue that has arisen as a result of the HVHF process. This issue is referred to as induced seismicity, or human-made earthquakes.

Many diagrams of hydraulic fracturing are out of scale, making the  “fracking” part of the process seem much closer to the surface than it really is. Here is a post by Canada Mines that gives some perspective on the possibility for manipulation of images by both anti-fracking and pro-fracking point of views (click on the link, then scroll down to see the “to scale” image on the right-hand side of the page).

Figure 1.

Image source

Figure 2.

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5 Comments
  1. It was most captivating when you mentioned that fracking involves extracting natural gas and oil from shale rock formations. My friend told me that their project requires
    frac fueling. I should advise him to partner with a firm that specializes in gas processing solutions to ensure a successful project.
    https://gtuit.com/frac-drill-rig-fueling/

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