In the mids, US companies figured out how to combine fracking with methods like horizontal drilling to extract oil and gas from vast underground shale rock formations at a reasonable price. There's a lot of oil and gas in shale, so this breakthrough led to a drilling boom in states like North Dakota, Texas, and Pennsylvania. The "fracking boom" has reshaped the American energy landscape. Domestic production of oil and natural gas has risen sharply, leading to cheaper energy and a reduced reliance on imports.
Advocates often argue that fracking is creating jobs, boosting manufacturing, and helping to tackle global warming by reducing the amount of coal we use. Opponents often argue that the industry is poorly regulated, the global warming benefits are overhyped, and that fracking has led to increased air and water pollution around the country. Using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to extract oil or gas from shale rock involves a number of steps.
Let's walk through a basic fracking operation for natural gas in, say, the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania:. This shale layer can sit more than 5, feet underground and drilling can take as long as a month. The well is lined with a steel casing to prevent the contamination of nearby groundwater.
The fluids crack open the shale rock. The sand holds those cracks open. And the chemicals help the natural gas seep out. A typical well can produce gas for 20 to 40 years, pumping out thousands of cubic feet of gas each day. That's a very rough overview of the fracking process. There are plenty of variations, depending on the geology of the region or the technologies used.
Often other particles besides sand are used, for instance. And here's a partial listing of some of the different techniques used in North Dakota, for example. This interactive map from the Post Carbon Institute shows the location of more than 63, shale oil wells and shale gas wells around the country.
These aren't the only oil and gas wells in the United States shale represents about 29 percent of total oil production and 40 percent of gas. But they're the ones that tend to rely heavily on fracking. Since the late s, the amount of oil and natural gas produced in the United States has risen dramatically, thanks to fracking, horizontal drilling, offshore drilling, and other advanced techniques. Supplies are projected to grow further in the years ahead:. Crude oil: By November , the United States was producing 7.
Oil production is now expected to keep growing until it reaches a peak of 9. Natural gas: US natural gas production has also reached new historical highs, to 24 trillion cubic feet in November Supplies are currently expected to grow until at least Note that these predictions are far from perfect — ten years ago, few were predicting the fracking boom.
The oil and gas boom — driven by fracking — has had all sorts of effects on the US economy. Here are a few of the big ones:. More jobs in some states: More drilling means more jobs. The oil and gas industry added , positions between and — growing ten times faster than the nation as a whole. Texas, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania have seen some of the biggest gains:. Higher economic growth: The oil and gas industry is a fairly small portion of the overall US economy, but analysts tend to agree that the fracking boom has helped bolster the country's growth a bit.
JP Morgan estimates that the oil and gas boom added 0. Other models suggest that the boom could add 0. Lower energy prices sometimes : Oil is still quite expensive — because the price of crude oil depends on global supply and demand factors. But US natural gas prices have fallen significantly since the mids though they rebounded during the cold winter, as heating demand surged. That's saved consumers money. It also means that power plants are more likely to use natural gas for electricity.
The decline of coal power: Many electric utilities have taken advantage of cheap prices to switch from coal to natural gas as their preferred power source. That switch has reduced a variety of air pollutants, as well as carbon-dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. This trend is hurting the coal industry — and one reason why one-fourth of the nation's coal power plants have closed since A boost for US manufacturing: America's glut of cheap natural gas is also luring some manufacturers to the United States.
Factories being built in Texas and Pennsylvania will convert natural gas into ethylene, a key ingredient in plastics and antifreeze. That said, it's unclear how many companies this will affect — as a note from Morgan Stanley points out, energy is still a small fraction of costs for most industries.
Lower imports: The United States is importing far less oil and natural gas than it used to — one reason why the trade deficit has dropped to its lowest level since Indeed, many companies are now arguing that US government should loosen its restrictions on selling American oil and gas abroad. It can. As fracking operations have spread out across the United States, they've triggered protests over air and water pollution. Here's an overview of some of the key concerns:. Groundwater contamination: One big concern is whether the chemicals used in fracking or the natural gas itself could contaminate people's drinking water.
There's the worry, for instance, that natural gas leaks could make people's tap water flammable. There are two big ways this might happen. One is through accidents or contamination near the surface. In recent years, fracking wells have blown out in states like North Dakota.
In another incident, thousands of gallons of fracking fluid leaked out of a storage tank in Dimock, Pennsylvania. And poorly constructed wells with cement problems can allow fluids or gas to migrate upward. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting a big study into this type of contamination and how to prevent it.
A second question is whether chemicals or natural gas could somehow migrate from the fracked shale layer thousands of feet up into the groundwater — even if the wells are perfectly constructed. This second possibility is considered unlikely, since there are dozens of layers of rock separating the shale from groundwater.
Still, the EPA had been studying one relatively shallow well in Wyoming where chemicals appeared to have seeped into the water. Wastewater pollution: A separate issue is what happens with all that water after it has been used to crack open shale and is pumped back up to the surface.
The oil and gas industry produces billions of gallons of this murky wastewater each year, which typically contains chemicals that were added for the fracking process. In many states, this wastewater is pumped back underground into separate "injection wells. That raises the risk of either accidental spills or improper treatment.
In , three treatment plants in Pennsylvania were fined for dumping waste into the Allegheny River. Air pollution: Once an area of shale has been fracked, natural gas begins flowing up out of the well. Most of this methane is typically captured, but some of it can escape into the air or leak out of pipelines — and methane is a potent greenhouse gas, heating the planet.
Separately, another report found that certain chemical gases such as benzene can escape into the air, posing health risks for nearby residents in Colorado.
In , the EPA began requiring oil and gas companies to limit these emissions and capture the escaped gas. Oil and gas companies typically add chemicals to the water used for fracking. Those chemicals can help decrease friction or prevent corrosion and so forth. They typically make up about 0.
Different operations require different chemicals, but all told some 2, different fracking chemicals have been identified. A good list can be found here. Some of the additives used are quite ordinary, including salt and citric acid. Others, like benzene, are toxic. One congressional investigation identified at least toxic additives that have been used.
It can sometimes be difficult to get a full list of chemicals used. Many fracking companies are now listing the compounds they employ on their websites, and some states like Texas have public disclosure laws, but these rules can vary from state to state. Drilling for shale gas is still at an exploratory phase. However, reserves of shale gas have been identified across large swathes of the UK , particularly in northern England.
More than licences have been awarded by the government, allowing firms to pursue a range of oil and gas exploration activities in certain areas.
Before companies can begin fracking they must also receive planning permission from the relevant local council. Cuadrilla faced legal challenges before it could begin drilling at its Preston New Road site at Little Plumpton in Lancashire. Applications have also been submitted in Yorkshire , Nottinghamshire and for a second site in Lancashire.
However, Cuadrilla is the only company to receive final consent from the government to begin fracking. Governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have all said they will oppose fracking until further research is completed into its environmental impact. In , Cuadrilla suspended test fracking operations near Blackpool after earthquakes of 1.
A subsequent study found it was "highly probable" that shale gas test drilling triggered the tremors. A government-appointed panel said there could be more tremors as a result of fracking, but they will be too small to do structural damage above ground. It recommended greater monitoring and said operators should observe a "traffic light" regime, with tremors of magnitude 0. As exploratory drilling restarted in Lancashire, Cuadrilla said it will comply with that system and also issue a daily report about the previous day's drilling.
The firm says it expects to have an idea of "how much natural gas is likely to be recoverable" from the exploratory drilling by spring However, before shale gas can be extracted on a commercial basis, Cuadrilla would need to apply for new licences and permits. Fracking allows drilling firms to access difficult-to-reach resources of oil and gas. In the United States it has significantly boosted domestic oil production and driven down gas prices.
It is estimated to have offered gas security to the US and Canada for about years, and has presented an opportunity to generate electricity at half the CO2 emissions of coal.
The industry suggests fracking of shale gas could contribute significantly to the UK's future energy needs. The Task Force on Shale Gas, an industry-funded body, said the UK needed to start fracking to establish the possible economic impact of shale gas - saying it could create thousands of jobs. IPAA and Western Energy Alliance have filed for intervention on behalf of the federal government as well as filed a motion for venue transfer back to Wyoming.
More than 25 scientific, peer-reviewed studies and expert assessments have concluded that hydraulic fracturing is not a major threat to groundwater.
In fact, many studies have examined groundwater pollution and specifically ruled out fracking as the cause. View the links below to learn more about each scientific study:. Yet, as our country faces the considerable challenge of meeting our future energy needs, companies Hydraulic Fracturing.
What is fracking? Facts About Fracking. How has fracking impacted U. How many American jobs has fracking created? Is fracking a threat to public health? Does fracking threaten groundwater? Does fracking cause earthquakes? Copy Link. Scientific Studies. View the links below to learn more about each scientific study: Pennsylvania State University : Water quality improves; Impacts rare near shale gas wells. We never saw a significant increase in methane concentration after the fracking well was drilled.
There was no significant change in methane concentration over time, even as more and more natural gas wells were drilled in the area. Amy Townsend Small. The Delaware Basin samples show no dissolved methane other than associated to a recent blowout.
Also, based on an evaluation of hydraulic fracturing history, and methods used in the Pavillion Gas Field, it is unlikely that hydraulic fracturing has caused any impacts to the water-supply wells.
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