Fracking
Fracking is method of hydraulic drilling. It is a process of drilling to the Earth’s core and extracting the gas and oil from rocks by directing high pressure water at the rocks. Gallons of water and many manmade chemicals are used for this purpose. This method is commercially used for more than 65 years. This process can be carried out vertically as well as horizontally. The horizontal technique is more often used than the vertical counterpart. This allows for the creation of new channels for releasing gas and oil as well as it can be used for extending the existing channels through which the gas and oil are being released (What is Fracking).
The term fracking refers to the way in which the rocks are fractured to get the oil and gas. It is an extensive and highly technical process. Two steps are used in fracking. The first is identifying the drilling location and drilling below the level of the first drinking water using a drilling rig. The second step involves Perfing and fracking. Perfing is the process of using a perforating gun to shoot small holes in the rock by passing electrical current. Next the rocks are fracked by sending high pressure water and chemicals through a tube (Shale Stuff).
Fracking is one of the widely used sources for energy in the United States whereas in The United Kingdom it is not used much. Fracking forms a major source of Energy in the United States. It lets the US use the oil resources which had not been accessible before fracking was invented. The older wells which were thought as exhausted also generate oil now due to fracking (BBC news).
Though Fracking is the reason for revolutionizing the energy industry, it has some of its downsides as well. Two earthquakes of magnitude 2.2 and 1.5 hit the Blackpool city near the area where the test operations for Fracking were being carried out. The reason for the earthquakes was suspected to be due to the fracking operations which were being carried out nearby. Another disadvantage of fracking is that it uses a lot of water to extract the gas and oil form the rocks. It has also been reported that harmful chemicals may seep out from the rocks and may mix with the ground drinking water (BBC news).
Works Cited
BBC News. What is fracking and why is it controversial? 16 December 2015. Web. 20 April 2016.
What is Fracking. Introduction. Web. 20 April 2016.
Shale Stuff. Process of Fracking. Web. 20 April 2016.
List of sources
Stockton, Nick. “Fracking’s Problems Go Deeper Than Water Pollution” Wired. 18 June 2015. Web. 20 April 2016.
Kore, Karenna. “Stop a Pipeline for Fracked Gas”. NYTimes. 15 April 2016. Web. 20 April 2016.
Rich, Nathaniel. “The Invisible Catastrophe”. NYTimes. 13 March 2016. Web. 20 April 2016.
Gerber, Leslie. “Fracking: Weighing Risks and Benefits”. NYTimes. 14 April 2016.Web. 20 April 2016.
Nikiforuk, Andrew. “Fracking Contaminates Groundwater: Stanford Study”. Resilience. 15 April 2016. Web. 20 April 2016.
Milman, Oliver. “Parts of Oklahoma and Kansas now face earthquake risk on par with California”. The Guardian. 29 March 2016. Web. 20 April 2016.
Horn, Steve. “Study: Fracking, Not Just Fracking Wastewater Injection, Causing Earthquakes in Western Canada”. Resilience. 31 March 2016. Web. 20 April 2016.
Energy From Shale. Web. 20 April 2016.
