Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is a drilling technology used for extracting oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, or water from deep underground. The safe, tested method has been used in the United States since 1947, with more than 1.2 million wells completed using the process. The IPAA has represented independent oil and natural gas producers for nearly 90 years and has studied the environmental impact of fracking in a variety of ways.
Put simply, hydraulic fracturing uses pressurized fluid and material to create small fractures within tight rock formations in order to stimulate production and safely enhance the flow of energy from an underground well after the drilling has ended and the rig and derrick are removed from the site. The process takes, on average, about three to five days to complete from start to finish. Once the fracturing operation is finished, the well is considered “completed” and is now ready to safely produce American oil and natural gas for years, even decades, to come.
Fracturing is a uniquely American success story that has provided immense benefits around the nation. By safely unlocking America’s abundant natural resources, fracturing has created millions of American jobs, reduced energy prices, brought cleaner air by significantly reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 25-year-lows, strengthened our national security, and transformed the United States into a global energy superpower.
The matter of methane emissions is also discussed: https://www.ipaa.org/methane/
Managed & Built by I2M Consulting, LLC | © 2010-
