Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Hydraulic fracturing [a] is a well stimulation technique involving the fracturing of formations in bedrock by a pressurized liquid. The process involves the high-pressure injection of "fracking fluid" (primarily water, containing sand or other proppants suspended with the aid of thickening agents) into a wellbore to create cracks in the deep rock formations through which natural gas, petroleum ...
In the US, about 750 compounds have been listed as additives for hydraulic fracturing, also known as ingredients of pressurized fracking fluid, [9] in an industry report to the US Congress in 2011 [10] [11] The following is a partial list of the chemical constituents in additives that are used or may have been used in fracturing operations. [12]
Hydraulic fracturing is the propagation of fractures in a rock layer by pressurized fluid. Induced hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking, commonly known as fracking, is a technique used to release petroleum, natural gas (including shale gas, tight gas and coal seam gas), or other substances for extraction, particularly from unconventional reservoirs. [1]
Environmental Protection Agency illustration of the water cycle of hydraulic fracturing. Fracking in the United States began in 1949. [1] According to the Department of Energy (DOE), by 2013 at least two million oil and gas wells in the US had been hydraulically fractured, and that of new wells being drilled, up to 95% are hydraulically fractured.
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and acidizing are two of the most common methods for well stimulation. These well stimulation techniques help create pathways for oil or gas to flow more easily, ultimately increasing the overall production of the well. [1] Well stimulation can be performed on an oil or gas well located onshore or offshore.
In fracking, slickwater is a hydraulic fracturing proppant primarily composed of 98–99.5% water and sand, with 0.5–2% chemical additives. These additives reduce friction, prevent corrosion, inhibit microbial growth, and improve fluid flow. Injected at high pressure, slickwater creates fractures in rock formations, enhancing oil or gas ...
The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (later called the FRAC Act) was introduced to end the exemption of hydraulic fracturing practices from the Clean Water Act. This measure was proposed first in 2009 and later in 2011, however failed to pass in Congress on both occasions. [ 111 ]
In the US, except for diesel-based additive fracturing fluids, noted by the American Environmental Protection Agency to have a higher proportion of volatile organic compounds and carcinogenic BTEX, use of fracturing fluids in hydraulic fracturing operations was explicitly excluded from regulation under the American Clean Water Act in 2005, a ...