1 FRACKING IS SHORT FOR HYDRAULIC FRACTURING Fracking is a process used in oil drilling It breaks up underground rock to free the oil and natural gas inside Oil and natural gas are fossil fuels They provide energy when burned Fossil fuels are used to power vehicles heat buildings and homes and provide electricity The fracking process begins with drilling vertical wells These wells are drilled until a deep rock layer called shale is reached Then the 4 Drilling for natural gas Drilling for natural gas in Colorado in Colorado in Colorado
well is drilled horizontally into the shale Many shale wells are between 6,000 and 10,000 feet 1,800 and 3,100 m deep 39 Percentage of US natural gas extracted from shale in 2012 Fracking is blasting water chemicals and sand into drilled wells to break shale Fracking frees oil and natural gas from underground rock People collect it and use it for energy Today’s fracking process includes horizontal drilling and wells Fracking uses special sand called Unimin sand Once drilling is complete the fracking process begins Millions of gallons of high-pressure water are blasted down the well into the rock The blast makes fractures in the shale This frees the oil or gas trapped inside Chemicals are mixed with the water used to create the fracture These chemicals get rid of bacteria and minerals in the rock These small things might keep the oil or gas from flowing Fracking water is also mixed with sand The sand keeps the fractures open so gas or oil will keep flowing out The oil or gas rises up the well It is collected and sold to companies for energy use 5
2 A FRACKING BOOM BEGAN IN THE 2000S Oil and gas companies Oil anandd gas s cocomppm anieiess began fracking in the 1940s bebegagann frfracackikingn in the 194040s s These technologies were Thhesese teechhnonolool gigieses were e not common however until not t commmon however untilil the 1980s In the 1990s the 1980s In the 1990s advanced technology allowed adadvanced technology allowed companies to drill deeper companies to drill deeper wells They could also wells They could also be more precise This be more precise This allowed horizontal allallol weedd hohohohoririiiriizozozozzontntnttalalall drilling of shale The drdrilillil ngng oooof f shshs alale e TThhehehe shale held great amounts of oil shshs alalaale ee heheeheldld ggrereatat aamomoununtsts oof f oioioill and natural gas anaaanddd nanatuturarall gagass Technology and techniques Technologyg and tecchniques continued to improve Oil cocontntininueued d toto iimpmproroveve OiOill and natural gas companies andd natut ral gas coompmpananieiess discovered large US shale discovered large UUSS shshalale e formations A large one is under foformrmattattioioonsns A large one is under Pennsylvania New York West PePePePennnnnnnnsysysysylvlvlvanana ia NeNew w YYorkrk Weestst Virginia Maryland and Ohio ViViViVirgrgrginini iaia Marylandd ana d Ohio Another is under Montana and Annother is under Monntattatana andnd North Dakota In the 2000s a NoNortrtthh DaDaDaDakokokokotatatata InInInIn tttthehehehe 2200000 0s0s0s aaa A fracking well in North Dakota 6
US oil and natural gas boom began One energy expert called 2003 the the key year in fracking The first horizontal drill was used that year It proved fracking was possible By the end of 2003 1,900 horizontal US fracking wells were in operation Ten years later the US Department of Energy said at least 2 million oil and gas wells had been fracked THE FIRST US OIL WELL AND DRILLING BOOM Edwin Drake drilled the first US oil well in Pennsylvania in 1859 Drake drilled into a natural oil seep This is a spot where oil already rises up out of the ground naturally The drilled well was lined with pipe The well was a success It produced 20 to 40 barrels per day People began to drill wells around the country A US oil boom period began 8 million Gallons of water on average used by each horizontal fracture in a fracking well Earlier drilling and fracking accessed shallow rock Shale is very hard and deep rock Horizontally fracking shale freed great amounts of natural gas and oil and oil A US oil and gas boom A US oil and gas boom began in the 2000s began in the 2000s Edwin Drake’s first oil well in Pennsylvania 7
