Fracking. Fracking (also often referred to as hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking) is a process stimulation procedure first used by the oil and gas industry in 1947 at a well in the Hugoton gas field located in Kansas. Hydraulic fracturing was first used commercially in 1949. The premise is simple, fluids are forced under pressure into the formation surrounding the wellbore. Once those fluids reach the fracture gradient of the surrounding rock the rock parts and fluid continues to flow further from the wellbore. The fluid continues to propagate the fracture, and eventually proppant is added to the fluid stream in order to keep the fractures from naturally healing once the wellbore pressure is released.
Once the process is finished the now propped fractures provide conduits for fluids to flow to the wellbore. There were more than 493,000 active natural-gas wells across 31 states in the U.S. in 2009, almost double the number in 1990. History The U.S. What Fracking Involves US wells Regulations. ‘Natural’ gas fails the sniff test. Top decisionmakers in Washington seem to have forgotten that “natural” gas is a fossil fuel, with some of the same damning negatives as coal and oil. For instance, unlike renewables, “natural” gas is an energy source we will exhaust — possibly sooner than previously thought. Let’s not forget that the recent rise of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) couldn’t have happened if we hadn’t nearly exhausted easily extracted gas supplies already. And now it turns out that this fracking boon may be partly a matter of industry hype.
The extraction of natural gas — especially via fracking — is incredibly harmful to the environment and people’s health. If you aren’t alarmed by increasing instances of flammable tapwater from methane leaks caused by drillers messing with geology, then maybe diesel and cancerous chemicals in the water will sound a few bells. One thing is certain about the “natural” gas industry. They need no support from politicians. Baffled About Fracking? You're Not Alone. Fracking: The Great Shale Gas Rush. The Pennsylvania homes of Karl Wasner and Arline LaTourette both sit atop the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation that stretches from Tennessee to New York and holds vast deposits of natural gas.
They also sit on opposite sides of a national debate over hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. That's the process that makes it economical for energy companies to tunnel 5,000 feet below ground and remove the gas—but also poses environmental risks. Wasner settled 14 years ago in Milanville, in the state's northeast corner, and will leave if drilling companies set up derricks nearby. He already moved away for six weeks last year while an exploratory well was drilled nearby. LaTourette, whose roots in the area go back five generations, is banking on the drilling. Now, reports of contaminated water and alleged disposal of carcinogens in rivers have caught state and federal regulators, and even environmental watchdogs, off guard.
The White House has sent mixed signals. Pennsylvania Fracking Spill: Natural Gas Well Blowout Spills Thousands Of Gallons Of Drilling Fluid. A Colossal Fracking Mess | Business. Fracking is an energy- and resource-intensive process. Every shale-gas well that is fracked requires between three and eight million gallons of water. Fleets of trucks have to make hundreds of trips to carry the fracking fluid to and from each well site.
Due in part to spotty state laws and an absence of federal regulation, the safety record that hydraulic fracturing has amassed to date is deeply disturbing. As use of the technique has spread, it has been followed by incidents of water contamination and environmental degradation, and even devastating health problems. Thousands of complaints have been lodged with state and federal agencies by people all over the country whose lives and communities have been transformed by fracking operations. In Dimock, where more than 60 gas wells were drilled in a nine-square-mile area, all kinds of ugly things transpired after Cabot came to town.
Shale gas has become a significant part of our energy mix over the past decade. World’s first fracking bans come through in France and New Jersey. While we were all distracted by the possibility that New York State will allow fracking for natural gas, two big milestones in the battle to restrict the notoriously environmentally destructive process arrived on successive days: New Jersey bans fracking On June 29, New Jersey became the first state in the Union whose legislature passed a ban on fracking. The vote was overwhelming: After the New Jersey House passed the measure back in March, the state Senate passed it Wednesday with an overwhelming 33-1 vote. Predictably, fossil fuel industry front group Energy in Depth is urging governor Christie to veto the bill. But unlike his recent veto of the state's "millionaire's tax," the fracking ban appears to have more than enough support in both houses to survive even if Christie is true to form and decides to be a dick.
France bans it, too Not to be outdone, yesterday France's parliament passed a ban on fracking, as well. US Forest Plan Raises Stakes In Fracking Battle, Republicans Say. In the worst drought in Texas history, 13.5 billion gallons of water used for fracking. Texas is experiencing the driest eight-month period in its recorded history. But in 2010, natural gas companies used 13.5 billion gallons of fresh water for hydraulic fracturing, and that could more than double by 2020. Where's all this water coming from? Oh, it was just lying around, in these aquifers! You guys weren't using it to drink or irrigate or anything, right? Crockett County, Tx., near San Angelo (which you probably also haven't heard of, but it's not near much else), has gotten less than two inches of rain since October. Fracking works with brackish water, the stuff that's not really useful for drinking or irrigation. Drilling company’s coloring book sells fracking to kids.
Colbert Report - Fracking.