Hydraulic Fracking Ethics

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

In today's global economy, energy is one of the most crucial and sought after commodities. Who supplies it and how much they supply determines how much influence they have over other countries as well as the global economy. This is why hydraulic fracturing is currently such an important and controversial topic in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking" or hydrofracturing, is the process of using pressurized liquids to fracture rocks and release hydrocarbons such as shale gas, which burns more efficiently than coal. This booming process of energy production provides a much needed economic boost, creating jobs and providing gas energy for Americans. The efficiently burning shale gas reduces carbon

In recent years, the subject of hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking has been a constant subject of interest in the news media. The pros and cons of fracking are passionately debated. However, the public should become educated on the subject of fracking prior to choosing a side of the argument. In the scholarly article, “Super Fracking,” published in 2014, by Donald L. Trucotte, Eldridge M. Moores, and John B. Rundle, a detailed description of fracking is provided, followed by their analysis of current issues surrounding the controversy. According to Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle, fracking saves the consumer money. The wellhead cost to produce natural gas in January of 2000 was two dollars and sixty cents per one thousand cubic feet. At an alarming rate, the cost at the wellhead to produce natural gas had risen to eight dollars per one thousand cubic feet by January of 2006. Comfortingly, the wellhead cost dropped to two dollars and eighty-nine cents by the end of 2012. Impressively, gas production increase and price decrease over the time period are a result of fracking. In their article, Trucotte, Moores, and Rundle describe in great detail that hydraulic fracturing, most commonly referred to as fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth to fracture the layers of rock so that a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the oil or natural gas inside. This method of fracking has been used commercially for the last fifty years.

Fracking is a highly controversial practice that utilizes the injection of water, chemicals and abrasives to extract relatively inaccessible pockets of natural resources. Although fracking has the potential to benefit the domestic economy, the practice of hydraulic fracturing, if left unregulated and mismanaged poses significant risks to the environment, the ecosystem and safety.

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.

“Fracking is the process of obtaining Natural Gas from below Earth’s surface by drilling 1000’s of feet into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release the gas inside.” Water, sand and chemicals are injected into the rock at high pressure which allows the gas to flow out to the head of the well.” (Jackson). Hydraulic Fracturing got its name due to the fact of how the rock is fractured apart by the high pressure mixture of a number of chemicals, sand, and water. Drilling companies first began Fracking in the early 1940’s, and starting in the 1990’s companies began “safer drilling” due to the amount of concerns that had arisen because early drillers had to detonate small explosions that eventually ended up killing many people. Fracking has been used for nearly 60 years and the number of concerns about it are rising every day. Due to the new technological advancements in drilling Fracking has changed greatly over the years. Before, the drilling would go on for weeks on end in order to extract only a small amount of natural gas. Now, due to the invention of higher powered drills, the drills get double the amount then they used to be able to get in more then half the time. Over 95,000 square miles of shale deposits have been found around the Appalachian Basin but the only way to reach these deposits of shale is through fracking. “Fracking is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock by drilling

Hydraulic fracturing also called fracking has been around for many years despite the recent events of controversy to continue fracturing or not. With the earth’s resources depleting rapidly every year and no sufficient replacement for energy humanity needs fracking. The process of fracking has been around for more than six decades. Fracking has been around since the 1940s and was created to increase the removal flow of oil and natural gas. In the words of chemical engineer Robert Rapier “Fracking involves pumping water, chemicals, and a proppant down an oil or gas well under high pressure to break open channels in the rock holding the oil or gas (Rapier).” A proppant can be different materials,

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process used to excavate oil and gas trapped in shale rock.

Hydraulic Fracturing, or “Fracking,” was first developed and implemented in the 1950s under President Truman. The method of energy collection is constantly

The global crisis surrounding energy needs grows in severity as time goes by and in order to solve it, scientists have created the innovative solution known as hydraulic fracturing (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as “fracking,” is a process that injects water, chemicals, sand, and other materials into layers of shale. The injected mixture cracks the layers of shale, releasing trapped natural gasses that can be collected (Source 1). Fracking occurs deep under the surface of the earth, miles below the groundwater that is accessed from drinking-water wells. In the mid-2000s, “fuel prices were rising rapidly” (Source 5). Hydraulic fracturing was a cheap solution that not only brought the world out of a state of emergency but made oil prices drop. The new method of gas collection grew the oil and gas industry, benefiting people all around the world. Fracking is a cheap, effective solution to global needs, but is under attack from skeptics who worry about environmental hazards. The claims against fracking not only have no real evidence but also risk destroying the jobs in the oil and gas industry as well as support for energy needs. Hydraulic fracturing is not only a cheap but a safe method that supports global needs surrounding both energy and jobs.

Overview: Fracking is the process of drilling down into the earth before a high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to release oil and natural gas trapped there. The name fracking refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the high-pressure mixture. The process can be performed vertically, but most commonly it is carried out by drilling the rock layer horizontally. Fracking has become an energy revolution in the United States as most energy experts thought that domestic energy supplies in the United States were declining. With advances in fracking, US natural gas production has climbed by as much as 25 percent in recent years.

The definition of fracking is, creating fractures in rock formations by putting a specially made liquid into cracks to make them open up more to allow more oil and gas to pass through. The use of fracking to help the extraction of oil and natural gases dates back to the 1860’s. At the time nitroglycerin or dynamite was used to increase output. It wasn’t until the 1940’s when hydraulic fracking started being experimented with. However, the first successful use of the process was done in 1950. Ever since then fracking has been used worldwide.

While it is true “fracking”, a procedure to obtain natural gas removal from shale formations, it is also true there have been infrastructure security issues associated with this practice. Furthermore, there have been ecological considerations from fracking brought to the forefront by countless environmentalists. Indeed, hydraulic fracturing, as it is referred to, is a process by which shale gas and oil is uprooted from a depth far below the earth’s exterior. The process of extracting shale gas and oil is employed aggressively while water is forced deep beneath the earth surface through a geological arrangement. From this arrangement, oil and gas is exerted back to the earth’s surface. Moreover, once the hydraulic fracturing process is

The term hydraulic fracturing (AKA- fracking) is a common term used in today’s media in reference to the oil industry. But what is hydraulic fracturing or fracking? hydraulic fracturing defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “as a process used to maximize the extraction of underground resources; including oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, and even water (EPA, 2014). Simply put fluid and a mix of material and chemicals are pumped into an already drilled well at high pressure to extract the desired resource (i.e. natural gas) trapped within a solid such as shale rock, we will look at this process and the elements used in it latter in this paper.

Since its use on the massive scale in 2003, hydraulic fracturing has become a very controversial topic. This process, also known as “fracking”, is a means obtaining deep deposits of petroleum, and uranium-bearing solution but most notably natural gas. This is achieved through drilling long horizontal shafts down to various rock formations, and pumping highly pressurized water, chemicals, or sand slurry into the well, fracturing the surrounding rock, and letting the desired resources flow freely. Many experts attest to the fact that fracking is a safe alternative to oil, with an abundance that will alleviate the stress on the US economy and lift its independence on the global oil market. However true these statements may be, the fact that oil companies careless practices, combined with unknown risks and the fact that natural gas will just offset the need for power, makes it dangerous, and an unfit replacement for oil. Without proper regulation, research, and precautions, hydraulic fracturing should be banned not only due to its harmful nature, but the tendency for leaks, and no long term economic benefits.