Frac In Depth
For more than 60 years, America’s energy producers have relied on an innovative technique known as hydraulic fracturing to enhance the production of oil and natural gas. While the first commercial “frac job” – as it is referred to within the industry – was conducted in 1947, the technique quickly became the most commonly used method of stimulating oil and natural gas wells. By 1988, the practice had already been utilized nearly one million times.
Hydraulic fracturing is applied to the majority of America’s oil and natural gas wells to enhance well performance, minimize drilling, and recover otherwise inaccessible resources. In fact, roughly 90 percent of the wells in operation today have been fractured, and the process continues to be applied in new and innovative ways to boost production of American energy in unconventional formations, such as “tight” gas sands, shale deposits and coalbeds.
As a result, hydraulic fracturing is now responsible for 30 percent of our domestic oil and natural gas, and has aided in the extraction of more than 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and seven billion barrels of oil, and much more to come. According to the National Petroleum Council, 60% to 80% of all wells drilled in the United States in the next decade will require fracturing to remain viable.
However, despite its longstanding record of safety and widespread utlization in the United States, many of the hard facts about hydraulic fracturing are not widely known, or have been misrepresented in the public light. Frac In Depth seeks to change that.
Follow the links below to learn more about this critical-and misunderstood-practice: What is hydraulic fracturing? How and why is it done? Is it safe? Is it tested? What are the environmental advantages? And why does it remain a critical tool for creating new jobs, generating new revenue and putting us on a path toward greater energy security? You’ll find answers to these questions and more by clicking the tabs below.
