Hydraulic Fracking

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

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”).

With earthquakes on the rise, we must figure out the cause of them and determine a solution to help limit or even prevent them from occurring. Since early 2009, earthquakes have been sweeping across the state of Oklahoma, causing many people to worry about their own well-being. Many scientists speculate the source of the earthquakes might be a result of Hydraulic Fracturing deep down in Earths’ crust. Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which oil and natural gas companies pump up to millions of gallons of wastewater, sand, and chemicals down drilled holes in order to release pockets of shale within the earth. This use of technology is in question of the potential cause or inducement of earthquakes in

The most dangerous consequence of fracking is that hundreds of chemicals are blasted into the Earth’s crust, which creates cracks in the bedrock. Many times, these cracks lead to an aquifer, in which case, all of the water in the aquifer becomes contaminated with these chemicals (Jackson, 2014). Additionally, when the natural gas is being pumped out of the wells, methane is released into the atmosphere. A study conducted by NOAA found that approximately 4% of the methane is being released into the atmosphere. This same study found that methane pollution increases climate changes because it traps heat in the atmosphere 25 times more than carbon dioxide (Hoffman, 2016). Furthermore, fracking waste wells are the primary cause of the increase of earthquakes in the Central U.S. This is because these wells operate for a longer period of time, which means that they inject more “solid ‘cake’” into the Earth than the actual fracking process (USGS, n.d. and StateImpact, 2017). Finally, recent studies have found that people who live near a fracking site are at higher risk to develop respiratory problems, which is due to the increased levels of pollutants. These pollutants are not only affecting the people who live in close proximity to these sites, but to the workers, as well. The most common type of respiratory problem reported was lung

Paragraph 1: Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a method designed to extract oil and gas from shale rock. According to Susan L. Brantley and Anna Meyendorff from the article, The Facts on Fracking, “The word fracking comes from the fracturing that occurs when the high-pressure water is injected into the rock. The process of fracking is accomplished by drilling into the earth where a mixture of high-pressure water is drilled into the rock causing the gas to be released.” The high-pressure water can have a mixture of materials such as water, sand, and different chemicals. The pressure of the water being injected is so high that it allows gas to burst out of the head of the well. The process can be achieved through two different ways, one being more common than another. One of the processes can be done vertically but the more common method is done horizontally. According to the New York Times, when the drilling is carried by horizontally, “New pathways can be used in the rock layer. Due to new pathways being created, more gas can be released,” (Marshall, 2015). Drillers can create mini-explosions in the wells to boost flow. How do mini-explosions not increase the probabilities of earthquakes? The horizontal drilling can allow millions of gallons of high-pressure water into the fractures of shale. Chemicals can be added to the high-pressure water for the purpose of dissolving minerals as well as inserting sand to open fractures made by the drillers and kill the

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,

Oklahoma, the center of what your local meteorologist might call Tornado Alley experiences on average forty-seven twisters per year; however, surprising or not, tornados are no longer the leading climate related disturbance throughout the state. In fact, since 2008 it has become eighty percent more likely to experience an earthquake rather than a tornado in the sooner state. Hydraulic oil fracturing is the cause of all these relatively new reoccurring earthquakes. Hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” is pumping millions of gallons of wastewater deep into the earth’s crust in order to release and extract oil or gas. Oil corporations throughout Oklahoma and Texas use this method of extricating oil. Fifty years ago people believed that by the year

During the mid 2000s hydraulic fracking was starting to grow because ‘It was a good way to meet energy needs.”(source 5). Hydraulic fracking has been said to release chemicals and pollute drinking water.

The practice of Hydraulic fracturing, or releasing a mixture of water, sand, and various chemicals into wells dug beneath the earth to unlock its natural gas has become a very controversial issue (Earthworks ). For some, the practice means new forms of energy in the U.S. and thousands of new jobs. While others have pointed to the connections between the release of chemicals into the environment and the contamination of water supplies. Other studies have linked this new technology to air pollutants and an increase in earthquakes due to disturbances in the earth’s shell. All of these issues and concerns point to a need for further regulations to diminish these negative effects on the environment.

hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is widely used by the oil and gas companies in Texas and Oklahoma to produce oil and natural gas. Although hydraulic fracturing technology successfully reduces the price of energy, the scientific evidences show that it relates to frequent earthquake and water pollutions. According to a report from Newsweek Global, the Oklahoma Geological Survey states that Oklahoma only has one and a half earthquakes over 3 magnitudes per year before 2008, the year of the oil and gas companies begin to use hydraulic fracturing technology, compare to two and a half per day in 2015(MCGRATH). The United States Geological Survey (USGS) also indicates that hydraulic fracturing induce earthquakes on March 28, 2015 (MCGRATH). In addition, United States Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that the hydraulic fracturing relates to the water pollution (Banerjee).

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

The process of hydraulic fracturing – shooting water, sand, and chemicals at high pressure into underground wells to release natural gas – is a divisive issue: Some say it dumps chemicals into ground water supplies, others argue it causes earthquakes, and still others think it can revolutionize America’s energy industry.

There is a line to be made between saying that fracking causes earthquakes, and saying that the disposal of the fracking wastewater causes earthquakes. In Oklahoma we’ve been injecting wastewater

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known and hereby referred to as fracking, has been around for decades- but it seems that it has only recently become a prominent point of contention in our society. Fracking is considered an unconventional technique for harvesting natural gas and oil. Where conventional wells drill straight down and can only collect from more free-flowing deposits, fracking allows for horizontal drilling into shale deposits and uses water pressure to enlarge pre-existing fractures- freeing up otherwise unobtainable fuel. First used by Halliburton in 1949 (Beaver 179), fracking has been credited as having wide variety of economic and environmental benefits. Recently however, it has come under fire as being a dangerous and dirty source of energy. Using the articles “Should We Frack?” by Bruce Beaver, and "Cornucopia or Curse? Reviewing the Costs and Benefits of Shale Gas Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking),” by B.K. Sovacool, I will evaluate the merits and detriments of the fracking process. By examining its environmental, public health and safety, and economic effects- I will show that fracking is not stable, safe, or clean enough to be considered an effective, long-term source of energy.

Injection of fracking wastewater underground has a high potential to induce seismic events which can cause earthquakes that measured as high up to 5.2 (Hoffman, 2018). More earthquakes have been induced to the activities of fracking as it is shown in the data that the number of small earthquakes in drilling heavy regions have grown exponentially in the US (Vittana, 2018). For instance, in Kansas and Oklahoma that were linked directly to localized fracking operation (Vittana,