Hydrolic Fracturing

Ricardo Murillo

NSCI 115

Instructor: Dr. Tim McConnico

12/5/2014

Part 1

        Energy is a very essential need in our world and although it comes in various forms it is not always easy to find. Energy is what fuels our cars, machines, and –is used for numerous other reasons, however it is a limited resource that is depleted more and more each year. That is where hydraulic fracturing or fracking comes into play. According to the USGS’ hydraulic fracturing is “an oil and gas well development process that involves injecting water under high pressure into a bedrock formation via the well”. This then increases the flow of natural gases in the rock and through the same high powered machine used to drill the water, sands, and chemicals, it extracts those natural resources out of the ground.

        The fracking process although complicated is explained in a simple way by the EPA on their website. The first step is acquiring enough water for the fracking process, a con about this is that water from different environments is taken and transported to be used in a different location. This depletes the fresh water source and effects the ecosystem directly. This step also can have effects on drinking water for human, because some of the water is also extracted from underground. The second step is where the water is mixed with chemicals. In addition to added chemicals, fine sands are also used in making the fracking fluid. Some concerns could be the possible on site leaks of the fluid which then could get into water used for drinking making the water contaminated. Step three is when the fluid in step two is injected into the well in order to create fractures that will release natural oil and gas. There have been studies on this stage of the fracking process and according to the USGS, fracking is associated with earthquakes. In Prague, OK, on November 2011 a M5.7 earthquake happened a day after fracking a well in that same area. If this is true then the more fracking is done the higher the possibilities that earthquakes will occur, which can endanger humans as well as disrupt surrounding ecosystems.

        The fourth step in the hydraulic fracturing process is collecting the injected fluid as well as the natural gas and oils released in stage three. This gathered fluid is then stored on site in tanks. Finally the final stage is when the waste fluid that is not needed is disposed of. There are a couple different ways that this waste fluid can be disposed of, but here are a couple: disposal by underground injection, treatment followed by disposal to surface water bodies, and sometimes it is recycled so that is can be used in fracking another well. The cons in this stage are not hard to find. Storing waste fluid back into the Earth can create multiple problems like earthquakes, contaminating drinking water, and can contaminate the ecosystem. However, despite all the cons in hydraulic fracturing there are some serious benefits to it. Natural energy is not always easy to find and we need these energy sources to fuel our world. Through fracking you can collect those natural gases and oils that otherwise would be hard to find. There are also a lot of untapped wells that can be used for fracking. Fuel collected by fracking can be collected in various parts of the globe, unlike digging for oil which has to be found. It is a very practical way to collect resources.