What is Fracking?

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Often an oil- or gas-bearing formation may contain large quantities of oil or gas, but have a poor flow rate due to low permeability, or from damage or clogging of the formation during drilling.[1] This is particularly true for tight sands, oil shales and coalbed methane. Hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking, which rhymes with cracking) is a technique used to create fractures that extend from the well bore into rock or coal formations. These fractures allow the oil or gas to travel more easily from the rock pores, where the oil or gas is trapped, to the production well. [2] Typically, in order to create fractures a mixture of water, proppants (sand or ceramic beads) and chemicals is pumped into the rock or coal formation.

Hydraulic Fracturing Operation Click here for larger view

Eventually, the formation will not be able to absorb the fluid as quickly as it is being injected. At this point, the pressure created causes the formation to crack or fracture. The fractures are held open by the proppants, and the oil or gas is then able to flow through the fractures to the well.[3] Some of the fracturing fluids are pumped out of the well and into surface pits or tanks during the process of extracting oil, gas and any produced water, but studies have shown that anywhere from 20-40% of fracing fluids may remain underground.[4]

Potential Groundwater Contamination - As mentioned previously, hydraulic fracturing is used in many coalbed methane (CBM) production areas. Some coal beds contain groundwater of high enough quality to be considered underground sources of drinking water (USDWs). According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ten out of eleven CBM basins in the U.S. are located, at least in part, within USDWs. Furthermore, EPA has determined that in some cases, hydraulic fracturing chemicals are injected directly into USDWs during the course of normal fracturing operations.[8] (Read stories by Peggy Hocutt and Laura Amos to learn how hydraulic fracturing of coalbeds and other geological formations has affected their lives.)