Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” is a drilling process that allows access to unconventional oil and natural gas reserves that would otherwise be inaccessible. Limestone, sandstone and shale far below the ground contain natural gas. This gas is formed as dead organisms in the rocks are decomposed. We can capture this gas at the surface when the rocks that contain the gas are drilled. To increase the flow of released gas, drillers use pressurized water to break the rocks apart, “fracturing” them. Initially this was sometimes done through detonating small explosions in the wells to increase the flow of gas to the surface. Around 1940, oil and gas drilling companies started fracking the rocks through pumping a high pressure water, sand and …show more content…
Also, water from gas wells often returns to the surface containing low, but measurable radioactive elements, and huge concentrations of salt. Economic Benefits/Liabilities Some potential benefits of fracking include job creation, increased income and wealth for those who sign gas leases on privately owned land, expanded local business opportunities for those who directly and indirectly service the energy industry. This could be for example construction workers, hotels and restaurants. Another benefit is rising tax revenue for communities. US oil and gas producers are struggling with persistently low natural-gas prices and a roughly 50% drop in the price of crude oil in the past year. The huge drop in oil prices has caused many drillers to do drastically cut their budgets, including laying off workers. Some firms are also struggling with higher costs of storing fracking related waste due to stricter regulations. Water, Climate Hydraulic fracturing requires 2-10 million gallons of water per well per fracture, which raises concern over water resources and quality. Some of the concern is about depletion of groundwater sources, but there are also a concerns about contamination of subterranean and surface water. (Boudet, H, 2013) Inadequately treated drilling wastewater with potentially toxic materials; surface spills of chemicals etc is getting released into rivers and streams. (Osborn et al., 2011) Instances of water contamination have been
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, 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 a shorter form of Hydraulic Fracturing which is the extraction process of both natural gas and oil. The process involves drilling deep into the Earth’s surface. Fractures are then created by “pumping large quantities of fluids at high pressure down a welfare and into the target rock formation” (EPA, 2016). After making these openings for the gas or oil to come up (known as “flowback”) the materials can be stored. The reason the fracking process occurs is because “more usual methods of extraction may not be able to fully reach the deposits of shale gas and oil” (2015).
Another significant benefit produced is the amount of jobs one well would create. To frack, hundreds of truckloads of equipment needs to be carried from one place to another. As well as the need to have an individual to watch over the fracking stations and watch for any troubling signs. These people would be important in the safety of the town and the people. Not only would there be hundreds of jobs created to build the wells, but there has to be people to maintain the wells, perform maintenance work on them. In the past years, jobs have been a laborious task to come by, unemployment rates have soared high and people would do anything to earn income. Fracking helped create several jobs, and it still is creating them. Even if it is only for one month out of a year that this individual could work, they would be thankful for an
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.
energy needs for decades."Fracking has unlocked massive new supplies of oil and clean-burning natural gas from dense deposits of shale — supplies that increase our country’s energy security and improve our ability to generate electricity, heat homes and power vehicles for generations to come," according to Yost, Erin E., John Stanek, and Lyle D. Burgoon , an alliance of oil and gas industry groups.But opponents say the industry is whitewashing fracking's real effects, a long list that includes air pollution, groundwater contamination, health problems and surface water
This paper explores the hydraulic fracturing process, exactly what it is, what the fracturing process does to the earth and the surrounding environment in addition, to the consequences. Hydraulic fracturing is fracturing of rock by pressurization. This process by which oil and natural gas can be forced from the earth. The hydraulic fracturing process takes millions of gallons of clean water, sand, chemicals and pumps them underground at high pressure to break apart rock to release gas and or oil. My research has led me to the discovery that there are as many proponents for fracking as that are those that oppose the process. One thing
Hydraulic fracturing in combination with advancement in directional drilling has made it possible to economically extract oil and gas from unconventional resources. The growth in U.S. oil and gas exploration and production made possible by the increase in use of hydraulic fracturing, has raised concerns about its potential to impact human health and the environment. Concerns have been raised by the public about the effects of hydraulic fracturing on quality and quantity of drinking water resources. The hydraulic fracturing water cycle includes five main activities: the withdrawal of ground or surface water needed for hydraulic fracturing fluids; the mixing of water, chemicals, and proppant on the well pad to create the hydraulic fracturing fluid; the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into the well to fracture the formation, the return of injected fluid and water produced from the formation to the surface; and the reuse, treatment and disposal of wastewater generated at the well pad, including produced water (U.S. EPA, 2015). With the water cycle being so massive and prolonged, the presence of potential negative impacts is greatly increased.
Hydraulic Fracturing or “Fracking” is something that has been prevalent in the news in recent times. It has revolutionised the energy industry in the US and now there are various companies competing as drilling companies suggest that trillions of cubic feet of shale gas may be recoverable from underneath parts of northern England. As many of our coal powered power stations are coming to the end of their lives, alternative sources of energy need to be found. However, there has been mass protest, due to the environmental and social impact of the fracking process.
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
The beginnings of our modern day fracking process reside in a U.S. Patent No. 59,936, issued to a Col. Edward Roberts, in November of 1866, during the civil war. Robert’s idea, dubbed “Exploding Torpedo”, involved dropping artillery rounds down a well, filling it with water, to concentrate the concussion, thereby fracturing the surrounding rock, allowing for greater access to the gas or oil below. (Hicks, “See an Exploding Torpedo”). This process has improved greatly and the Environmental Protection Agency now refers to hydraulic fracking as the entire process, from the gathering of water used until waste disposal. What was once thought to be cost prohibitive is now more cost effective than ever.
In any business there is a fine line between cutting corners to save money and being fair to your costumers and the community you work in. Oil companies such as Chevron do not seem to acknowledge the presence of this dilemma. They show blatant disregard for the safety of the workers that they employ, and the people who’s health they endanger. These companies have been working on a new home front in our own back yards of Pennsylvania as they move across the country sucking Mother Nature of her natural resources. The fact of the matter is that the practice of fracking is bad for the environment in every way possible and can be a serious if not ominous threat to every person’s health within miles of the well sites.
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.
Fracking for natural gas helps the U.S. make more of its own energy by getting to natural gas that can supply the U.S.for a long period of time and helping the U.S.to rely less on gas from other countries. According to “Is Fracking a Good Idea?”, there is enough natural gas in the United States to provide natural gas to the country for over 100 years. The amount of gas the U.S. can produce went way up because of the technology they use, such as directional drilling. Directional drilling helps the United States make more of it own energy because it drills in different directions from the same hole so that more gas could be come out of the original hole that they drilled. The U.S. needs to make more of its own energy so
The topic of hydraulic fracturing has been a source of debate in recent years. Often referred to as “fracking,” this controversial process involves injecting vast amounts of water, sand and chemicals deep into the ground at high pressure to crack the shale and release the natural gas trapped within. Critics fear the process endangers the public water supply because well drilling goes through the water table which exposes it to both the gas itself and the chemicals used to free it. Proponents refute many of these claims and discredit environmental studies by pointing out seemingly valid errors in their execution. They also point out key economic, environmental, and