Exploring The Cost Of Hydraulic Fracturing Essay

Hydraulic fracturing is also known as “fracking” is a technique which involves drilling down, then horizontally as far as 10,000 feet below the surface to release natural gasses stored in the sedimentary rock known as Shale. The channel is then encased with concrete or occasionally steel to allow millions of gallons of water to be injected into the wellbore. Most water used in fracking comes from surface water sources such as rivers, lakes, or other accessible bodies of water nearby. Not only is there water being funneled into the wellbore, but also a mixture of sand and other chemicals. When the high-pressure mixture is injected underground it fractures the Shale around the wellbore and creates fissures. The fissures are then held open with

soon the process was utilized on thousands of gas wells across the US (“The History”).

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has been a hot topic in recent times due to its controversial ways. Many people argue that it is a way for the United States to become less dependent on foreign oil, while others argue that the environmental cons outweigh the pros of fracking. Fracking is the process of extracting natural gas from underground by drilling into the earth. This is done by injecting water, sand, and chemicals into a bedrock formation by a well (“Hydraulic Fracking”). By doing this, the process creates new fractures in the rock, as well as making previously made fractures bigger and easier to access (“Hydraulic Fracking”). Fracking is mostly done is areas that have low-permeability rocks like tight sandstone, shale, and some coal beds to increase the flow of oil and/or gas to a well (“Hydraulic Fracking”). The fracking process can take up to a month; the drilling team going more than a mile into the earth to extract the natural gases or oil. After the job is done, the well is cemented up (“What is Fracking”).

Hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, is the process of removing oil and natural gas from in between layers of shale and other low-permeability rocks. This is done by drilling both a well and a horizontal tunnel. Sand and chemicals are shot through the tunnel with incredible pressure, which cracks the shale allowing the oil and natural gas to travel up the well (Jackson, 2014). Fracking has caused a breadth of controversy due to the economic benefits and the geological consequences.

Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is an oil and gas drilling process that is used to extract oil and natural gas from deep underground. Fracking is the cheapest route for oil and gas companies to make billions of dollars. The majority of the time the cheapest way is not always the best way of doing things. Hydraulic fracturing is not a good thing just because it makes money for--at times--everyone involved, as it causes our air and water to be polluted. There should be more regulations and laws to prevent contamination and protect our air and water from fracking pollution.

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” for short, is the process of extracting oil or gas from deep beneath the Earth’s surface by pushing water into shale rock to displace the oil or gas (Pritchard, 2013).

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking” is a cost-efficient and innovative process to obtain natural gases from underground. Greengarbageblog.org describes

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the process of horizontal drilling past the water table into shale rock about 5,000 to 9,000 feet vertically and up to 10,000 feet horizontally. Then pressurized fracking fluid is pumped into the ground to bring the oil and natural to the surface. In the United States, there are more than 500,000 active natural gas wells.

Hydraulic fracking is vertical well bores are drilled thousands of feet into the earth, through sediment layers, the water table, and shale rock formations in order to reach the oil and gas. The drilling is then angled horizontally, where a cement casing is installed and will serve as a conduit for the massive volume of water, fracking fluid, chemicals and sand needed to fracture the rock and shale. In some cases, prior to the injection of fluids, small explosives are used to open up the bedrock. The fractures allow the gas and oil to be removed from the formerly impervious rock formations. Although fracking has technically been in existence for decades, the scale and type of drilling now taking place, deep fracking, is a new form of drilling

Unfortunately, the extent of the environmental risks that are associated with hydraulic fracturing are largely unknown. According to a number of studies and publications GAO reviewed, fracking may pose risks to air quality. This ‘wishy washy’ finding was because the studies that were reviewed were not taking into account the long-term, cumulative effects of this extractive process (“Oil and Gas” 2012). The increase in air pollutants, the reports found, were more likely a result of engine exhaust, emissions from diesel-powered pumps, gas that was vented or flared for operational reasons, and unintentional emissions from faulty equipment or storage areas for waste (“Oil and Gas” 2012). Not surprisingly, a number of studies and publications GAO reviewed also indicated that fracking only might put our water quality at risk. Fracking can cause the contamination of surface water and groundwater as a result of erosion, spills and releases of chemicals, or the underground migration of chemicals (“Oil and Gas” 2012). So we have oversight agencies that release reports siting cases that are understudied, yet in the meantime permits are still being

Hydraulic fracturing is either referred to as “fracking” or “hydrofracking.” It is a generally new technique for oil and gas extraction. Basically for shale gas and tight oil, including cracking of rock by a pressurized fluid. Even penetrating takes into account the infusion of very pressurized fracking liquids into shale rock layers profound inside the earth. After a well is drilled, it is cased with bond trying to guarantee groundwater security and the shale is using pressurized water broke with water, chemicals, sand and other fracking liquids. This makes new channels inside the stone from which natural gas is removed at higher than customary rates.

Before starting the process of fracking the drilling site must be suitable. The site must be four to six acres, cleared from large equipment, and have plastic lines placed for drilling waste . In addition, their must be a water impoundment with about 4 million gallons of water that is collected and stored in order to be pumped into the well. This water is transferred by tanks, trucks, or plastic-lined ponds . Hydraulic fracturing processes begins by drilling a vertical well. The drilling goes through aquifers and dozens of geological layers before it reaches desired location of shale rocked believed to contain natural gas. The drill begins drilling horizontally and a production casing is then inserted into the borehole which is surrounded by cement to case it. Next, a perforating gun is fired to make the shale rock more penetrable. A mixture of water, sand, and various undisclosed chemicals are then pumped in at high pressure in order to fracture/break the shale for the gas to escape. After the fissures in the shale rock occur the natural gas is released through the fissures and is taken up the well to the surface. Last, the water byproduct, also referred to as flow back water or produced water is released and travels back to the surface. The gas that is collected is then processed, refined, and shipped to distributors

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method in which a high pressured water, sand, and chemical mix is injected into a well in order to fracture rock leading to the releases of gas or oil to the surface, see Figure 1 for illustration. Fracking was invented in the 1940s but has only become economical in the past few decades due to advancements in technology. The top fracking regions in the

Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the inner gas. Water, sand, and many chemicals are injected into the rock

Fracking, is drilling over 5 thousand feet into the ground then turning it at a horizontal angle and continuing several thousand feet more. A single surface site can contain several wells. When the well is drilled, and cased then cemented.(1) small fissures are made in the horizontal part of the pipe where a mixture of 90% water and 9.5% sand and .5% additives is pumped at high pressure to creates cracks in the rock that are held open by the sand. Then the additives help create less friction, stop pipe corrosion and help break the rocks up better.