![]() ![]() Therefore it would contribute develop a new industry and the economy in areas where gas extraction was not possible before. The technique allows companies to access oil and gas difficult to get by traditional drilling methods. The main benefit is the impact on the economy.But is the impact of fracking mostly positive or negative? Should governments continue promoting innovation in this area? Fracking pros and consĭefenders of hydraulic fracturing usually explain that this technique has some benefits: ![]() However, some countries, such as France and Tunisia, aware of the environmental and health dangers of fracking have decided to ban it. Thanks to these latest techniques, shale gas extraction has become economically viable. Today, there are horizontal wells using massive hydraulic fracturing in the USA, Canada and China. ![]() By applying higher pump pressure and more water, gas extraction became economically viable in the Barnett Shale in Texas. In 1997, Nick Steinsberger, an engineer from Mitchell Energy, discovered a more efficient slickwater fracturing technique. In the 1980s, oil companies realised that horizontal wells were more effective in producing oil than vertical ones. President Gerald Ford included the development of shale oil resources as a prioritiy in his energy plan. In 1976 the US Government lauched the Eastern Gas Shales Project and public funding was devoted to the Gas Research Institute, which undertook many experiments and projects in the following years. Massive fracturing became popular in Western Canada, Germany, Netherlands and the UK.įracking continued to grow and evolve. It consisted of injecting over 136 metric tonnes of proppant and help make economically viable the expoitation of gas saturated sandstones with low permeability. In the late 1960s, a new technique called massive hydraulic fracturing (or high volume fracturing) was introduced in the USA. The USSR introduced fracking in 1952, and later other countries gradually adopted this technique. Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company acquired the exclussive license and implemented the first commercial fracturing treatments in Archer County, Texas, and in Stephens County, Oklahoma. A patent for this new method was issued in 1949. Floyd injected gelled gasoline (napalm) and sand in a gas producing formation at the Hugoton gas field in Kansas. The expansion hydraulic fracturing began in the 1940s following a successful experiment contucted by Floyd Farris for the Sanolind Oil and Gas Corporation in 1947. Later, liquid nitroglycerin was used in the process, until, in the 1930s, drilling companies, replaced it by with a non-exploding liquid called acid. In 1865, he created the patent of the "Exploding Torpedo." This method used an iron case with powder which exploded under the surface and propelled water, fracturing the subsoil and contributing to increase the production of gas and oil wells. Edward Roberts realised that oil could be extracted through the use of explosives. The history of fracking can be traced back to 1862. Hydraulic fracturing can report important economic benefits to many countries but entails important environmental and public health risks. This technique consists on injecting water, sand and chemicals at high pressure in order to create small fractures and facilitate the extraction of gas and oil. Hydraulic fracturing ( ʺfrackingʺ) is the fracturing of rock by a pressurized liquid. What is "fracking"? History and evolution We discuss the pros and cons of fracking and debate if the dangers of fracking offset its economic benefits. ![]()
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