Big%20Screen%20Energy-%20A%20Fracking%20Film%20Festival. Fracking: Untangling fact from fiction. 13 December 2012Last updated at 04:15 ET By Matt McGrath Environment correspondent, BBC News The Cuadrilla drilling operation at Westby in Lancashire.
What is fracking and why is it controversial? Drilling companies suggest trillions of cubic feet of shale gas may be recoverable from underneath parts of the UK through a process known as "fracking".
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock. But how does it work and why is it controversial? What is fracking? Fracking is the process of drilling down 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.