A frac stage is simply a portion of the horizontal section of the well that is being fraced. Horizontal wells commonly have 30-40 frac stages now, and the average number of stages per horizontal well in the US is tracking around 16 today.

Steps

1. Drill a well. A well is drilled vertically into the ground until it reaches the permeable shale layers.
2. Pump in high pressured fracking fluid.
3. Fracture the shale rock.
4. Prop open the fractures.
5. Collect the natural gas.
6. Transfer the natural gas.

Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is revolutionizing oil and gas drilling across the country. Fracking is done by drilling deep into the earth, then using small explosions and a mix of water, sand, and chemicals to break up shale rock formations that contain natural gas and oil.

Hydraulic fracturing is a well-stimulation technique used commonly in low-permeability rocks like tight sandstone, shale, and some coal beds to increase oil and/or gas flow to a well from petroleum-bearing rock formations. A similar technique is used to create improved permeability in underground geothermal reservoirs.

STEP 3: Cementing and Testing Once the target distance is reached, the drill pipe is removed and steel pipe is pushed to the bottom. This “well casing” is cemented in place. Rigorous tests are performed to ensure the pipe is impermeable before any production of natural gas or oil can occur.

Risks and Concerns of Fracking

• Contamination of groundwater.
• Methane pollution and its impact on climate change.
• Air pollution impacts.
• Exposure to toxic chemicals.
• Blowouts due to gas explosion.
• Waste disposal.
• Large volume water use in water-deficient regions.
• Fracking-induced earthquakes.

And is it safe to live near fracking sites? A recent study gave some important answers to that last question: No, it’s not safe to live near fracking sites, and adding more fracking wells has a direct negative impact on public health.

In addition to causing pollution, fracking is also responsible for being extremely water intensive. In the U.S. in 2010, the EPA estimated that fracking used between 70 billion and 140 billion gallons of water to extract oil and natural gas from 35,000 wells, according to EarthWorks.

Hydraulic fracturing has become a contentious environmental and health issue with Tunisia and France banning the practice and a de facto moratorium in place in Quebec (Canada), and some of the states of the US.

The United States is the fastest-growing country in the production of shale oil, using combined techniques of deep vertical-horizontal drilling and hydraulic rock stimulation by fracking.

The regulatory agency in charge of managing the Delaware River and its tributaries voted last week to permanently ban natural gas drilling and fracking within the entire four-state watershed, which supplies the drinking water for more than 13 million people in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York.

It helps to increase wages. Not only does fracking help to create jobs and save Americans money, but it also helps to increase wages in the United States. In counties where shale resources are extracted through fracking, there has been an increase in average incomes by 10 to 20 percent.

Fracked natural gas burns more cleanly than coal and oil, so the net result is less carbon and other particulates. By replacing coal with gas, America has led the world in reducing carbon pollution. It may sound strange, but natural gas is a fossil fuel that’s so far been good for the climate.

Biggest Disadvantages of Fracking

• It encourages us to use fuels that are finite.
• It may produce ozone.
• It may provide us with unknown long-term consequences.
• It encourages us to consume more fossil fuels.
• It is a leading contributor of methane in our atmosphere.
• It puts unknown chemicals into the ground.

Fracking is a hotly debated environmental and political issue. Advocates insist it is a safe and economical source of clean energy; critics, however, claim fracking can destroy drinking water supplies, pollute the air, contribute to the greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and trigger earthquakes.

A ban would end the U.S. role as the world’s largest oil and natural gas producer and would force the United States to become a net importer of oil and gas once again. It would weaken the Nation’s geopolitical influence and put our national security at risk.

Fracking sites release a toxic stew of air pollution that includes chemicals that can cause severe headaches, asthma symptoms, childhood leukemia, cardiac problems, and birth defects. In addition, many of the 1,000-plus chemicals used in fracking are harmful to human health—some are known to cause cancer.

Fracking requires more water than conventional gas drilling; but when natural gas is used in place of coal or nuclear fuel to generate electricity, it saves water. Unconventional drilling’s water demand can be better or worse than alternative energy sources, the study finds.

Drilling for oil, both on land and at sea, is disruptive to the environment and can destroy natural habitats. Additionally, pipes to gather oil, roads and stations, and other accessory structures necessary for extracting oil compromise even larger portions of habitats.

DISRUPTING OUR CLIMATE Fracking releases large amounts of methane, a dangerously potent greenhouse gas. Fracked shale gas wells, for example, may have methane leakage rates as high as 7.9 percent, which would make such natural gas worse for the climate than coal. But fracking also threatens our climate in another way.