Hydraulic Fracturing : A Common And Widespread Technique

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, is the process used to excavate oil and gas trapped in shale rock.

With the age of constant industrial and technological growth has come the necessity for not only cost effective and efficient methods for industry, but also the need for obtaining fuel for the machines that make the modern world possible. Oil has become as precious a commodity as gold, if not more so; its attainments constantly driving the world's largest businesses and governments across the world into action. Naturally, a "quick-fix" solution to this problem is constantly sought after by oil companies wishing to provide oil on a massive scale. One of these drilling methods is known as induced hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking).

‘Hydraulic fracturing/fracking is the process of injecting liquid at high pressure into subterranean rocks, boreholes, etc. to force open existing fissures and extract oil or gas’ (Oxford dictionaries, 2015).

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 is a process of collecting natural gas by pressurizing shale beds. Fracking consists of two components: a drill and fracturing fluids [4]. Well shafts are drilled into a bed of shale less than two thousand feet deep to form a horizontal fracture because less force is required to make the rock strata buckle perpendicularly to the drill [2]. After the primary shaft has been drilled, cement is poured into the surrounding area to keep the fracturing fluids from backtracking up the shaft [2]. Once the drill is placed into the pay zone, where the reservoir of oil is located, fracturing fluids are forced into the surrounding

For instance, drilling deep enough into the ground where it is almost impossible for chemicals to reach the water table could eliminate illnesses brought on by water contamination. An additional way to prevent illnesses is to apply more than two layers of pipe casing and concrete. This would lessen the chances of fracking fluid breaking the barrier to the water table, and prevent the mixture of chemicals from leaking out of the pipe. Many also believe that fracking can cause both earthquakes and sinkholes. There are no simple solutions to these natural disasters happening in areas prone to them. So instead of performing hydraulic fracturing in places that are prone to natural disaster, it can be done in places where it is less likely for these unavoidable events to occur. Scientists are also developing methods that are used to indicate the risk of natural disasters based on location. Hydraulic Fracturing accidents can occur above and below ground. For example, on April 11, 2011, a hydraulic fracturing blowout caused gallons of fracking fluid to spill in the surrounding area. This wasn’t the first hydraulic fracturing spill, and it unfortunately won’t be the last. A way to prevent these spills is to use a mobile evaporator. This evaporator would be able to filter and clean fluid. This machine would recycle spilled fracking fluid, so the water can still be used. The mobile evaporator, would prevent tons of chemical and water used from being wasted. Surface impoundments used for storage or disposal would also prevent fracking fluid spills. Surface impoundments are trench-like containment area that are utilized for storage or disposal of fracking mixture. This allows for simple and effective temporary storage where the fluid can be reused, stored, or held for disposal. Recycling the fracking mixture can also prevent spills. If the fracking fluid is able to be used multiple times there is

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.

According to an article in The New York Times, hydraulic fracturing is best described as the technique used to drill down into the earth using a high pressure water mixture to fracture the rocks and extract the natural gas and oil. Approximately one million wells have been fracked since the 1940’s, most of these are vertical wells that drill into porous sandstone or limestone. New technology has allowed for horizontal drilling to capture gas from shale rock. Water, sand and other chemicals are injected into the rock at a high pressure to create the fractures that release the gas. The chemicals added to the water dissolve minerals, kill bacteria that may plug up the well and

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.

Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial practice commonly used by oil and natural gas producers. This practice, better known as “fracking”, is used to stimulate the production of oil by fracturing shale to release natural gas. The birth modern day hydraulic fracturing began as early as the 1940s and today it is widely practiced across the United States, from new york, to Oklahoma, even all the way to California. The process of fracking is fairly simple, hydraulic fracturing (fracking) involves tapping shale and other tight-rock formations by drilling a mile or more below the surface before turning horizontal and continuing to drill several thousand feet more (Energy from Shale 2016). is drilled water is injected at an extremely high rate

Today there is great demand for natural gases and oils, we use them every day from our cars to running appliances in our houses. We have developed skills and techniques to extracting these gases and oils. One technique is Hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic Fracturing also known as Fracking. Fracking has many dangers to it from polluting water supply, land and even air.

Hydraulic Fracturing (also commonly known as fracking) is a process used to extract natural gasses deep within the earth. This is done by drilling vertically into the ground until the desired depth; then drilling horizontally; and pumping millions of gallons of water, sand, and other chemicals into the drill at a high pressure to create fissures through which the gas can escape. Currently, hydraulic fracturing is extensively used in the United States in order to access fossil fuel energy deposits which were previously inaccessible. Although fossil fuels can now be accessed easily through this process, there are many health and environmental risks associated with fracking that may make it less than ideal. For instance, fracking can contaminate drinking water, increase air pollution, and leave workers and near-by residents open to many health risks. Although there have been laws and regulations passed to help minimize the risks involved with fracking, an in-depth analysis of the opinions of supporters of fracking and the research behind it will show how fracking needs to be further regulated in order to be safe and effective for everyone. While we do not have to completely stop the use of fracking, improving the fracking process or reforming the current laws and regulations can allow us to receive the economic benefits of fracking, while also being environmentally and health conscious.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Fracking, or Hydraulic Fracturing is a method used to extract underground resources including oil, natural gas, and geothermal energy by injecting high pressure fluid into a geologic formation containing oil or natural gas deposits. The high pressure fluid opens up existing fractures and creates new fracture systems that allow the resources that were once trapped to move more freely into a production well for further extraction.

Hydraulic Fracturing is a process of forcing high levels of pressurized water underground in order to crack the layer of the earth to release the shale from the gas reservoir. This method artificially induces underground cracking which was known in 1947 as hydrafacing (Sica, 2013, p. 25) and over the years this method has adapted with technological advances and is currently known as fracking. Figure 1, above,