Hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking," is an oil and gas well development method that includes pumping high-pressure water, sand, and chemicals into a bedrock formation through a well. This procedure aims to create new cracks in the rock while also enlarging, extending, and connecting existing fractures. Hydraulic fracturing is a well-stimulation process used to improve oil and/or gas flow to a well from petroleum-bearing rock formations in low-permeability rocks such as tight sandstone, shale, and some coal beds. Improved permeability in subsurface geothermal reservoirs is achieved using a similar technique. Many established oil and gas producing regions, as well as other locations new to the petroleum business, use hydraulic fracturing.
Hydraulic fracturing is just one phase of the whole process of drilling, finishing, and producing an oil and gas well.
In recent years, the oil and gas industry in the United States has experienced unprecedented levels of production, owing mostly to hydraulic fracturing. In 2019, the United States surpassed Russia and Saudi Arabia as the world's top oil and natural gas producers. This is due to hydraulically fractured horizontal wells, which made up 71% of all oil and natural gas wells drilled in the United States in 2019.
This extraction method involves mixing chemicals (sometimes toxic ones) with massive volumes of water and sand under high pressure to build rock formations, which are then used to fracture the material surrounding oil and gas, allowing it to be removed. Fracking is contentious due to the large number of natural resources required to complete the procedure, and the harmful effects it can have on the air and water quality in fracked areas.
Methane is one of the main pollutants emitted during the fracking process. The US oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tonnes of methane per year, or 2.3 percent of total production. The fugitive emission rate, on the other hand, is estimated to be 1.4 percent by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Methane is a significant source of greenhouse gas emissions. On a 20-year horizon, its global warming potential is 84 times that of carbon dioxide, and on a 100-year horizon, it is 28 times.
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