How Fracking is Boosting Oil & Gas Production in the US
Lowering gasoline and energy costs for an average American, the oil and gas industry is improving the economic outlook for the United States in significant ways. Hydraulic fracturing is being increasingly adopted to boost domestic oil production.
In fact, through fracking, the United States has been able to increase its oil production faster than at any time in its history. According to a report published by the EIA (Energy Information Administration), fracking hit a new milestone in 2015, when it accounted for more than half of all US oil output. This information is rather stunning, considering the fact that in 2000, fracking made up less than 2% of American oil production.
What is Fracking
Hydraulic Fracturing, a drilling technique commonly called fracking, is becoming a popular choice for extracting oil and gas from the most difficult-to-reach resources, deep underground. It is called fracking due to the fact that in this technique, rock is fractured apart by a high pressure mixture to recover crude oil and natural gas from shale deposits in unprecedented amounts.
The United States Environmental Protection Agency called the fracking process an unconventional way to produce natural gas, since rock formations are fractured to stimulate the flow of natural gas or oil, increasing the volumes that can be recovered.
However, experts at Clark Cooper state that the overall environment for fracking operations can be very harsh. It requires equipment that can withstand extreme conditions, including a range of high quality solenoid valves, instituted in many phases of the fracking process, from the initial solution delivery to the transport and storage of gases.
How Fracking is Done?
The process starts by drilling a well vertically or at an angle from the surface to a depth of one to two miles to reach the deep layer of rock where natural gas or oil exists. The drilled well is encased with steel or cement to prevent the leakage of groundwater into the well. Once the source is reached, drilling is diverted at a 90-degree angle, horizontally for more than a mile, along the rock layer.
After the drilling is done, high-pressure water mixture is directed at the rock to create fractures to release the gas inside. Other than water, proppants like ceramic, pellets or other small incompressible particles, and chemical additives are also injected to open and enlarge fractures within the rock formation to make the gas flow out to the head of the well.
Economic Benefits of Fracking
Due to the fracking revolution in the US, the prices of natural gas have dropped 47% since 2013. There has been a drop of $13 billion in gas bills per year from 2007 to 2013 in American households, according to Brookings. The article also added that the economic gains have totaled $74 billion per year for all industrial, commercial and residential power consumers as a result of increased fracking.
Despite the economic gains, fracking is a hotly debated environmental and political issue, since there has been evidence that fracking pollutes the air, destroys drinking water supplies and triggers earthquakes.
However, advocates of fracking still insist that it is a clean and economical source of clean energy that is boosting the US economy.