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What is fracking - and why is it so controversial?

"Fracking" is short for "hydraulic fracturing" - it's a process by which water, sand, and chemicals are injected underground at very high pressures to crack open rock layers and release the oil or gas trapped inside.

Technically, fracking isn't new: Companies have been using this technique for decades to extract oil and gas from hard-to-exploit rock formations. Halliburton first used hydraulic fracturing back in 1949 as a way of increasing the flow of gas from wells in Kansas.

In recent years, however, fracking has become much more widespread. In the mid-2000s, US companies figured out how to combine fracking with methods like horizontal drilling to extract oil and gas from vast underground shale rock formations at a reasonable price. There's a lot of oil and gas in shale, so this breakthrough led to a drilling boom in states like North Dakota, Texas, and Pennsylvania.

The "fracking boom" has reshaped the American energy landscape. Domestic production of oil and natural gas has risen sharply, leading to cheaper energy and a reduced reliance on imports.

Advocates often argue that fracking is creating jobs, boosting manufacturing, and helping to tackle global warming by reducing the amount of coal we use. Opponents often argue that the industry is poorly regulated, the global warming benefits are overhyped, and that fracking has led to increased air and water pollution around the country.

How does fracking work, exactly?

Using hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling to extract oil or gas from shale rock involves a number of steps. Let's walk through a basic fracking operation for natural gas in, say, the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania:

1) First, a "wellbore," or hole, needs to be drilled all the way down to the layer of gas-rich shale. This shale layer can sit more than 5,000 feet underground and drilling can take as long as a month. The well is lined with a steel casing to prevent the contamination of nearby groundwater.

2) Once the drill reaches down to the shale layer, it slowly turns and begins drilling horizontally, for a mile or more along the rock.

3) A "perforating gun" loaded with explosive charges is lowered to the bottom of the well and punctures tiny holes in the horizontal section of the casing that's deep down in the shale layer.

4) Now comes the actual fracking, or "completion" stage: A mixture of water, sand, and chemicals is pumped into the well at extremely high pressures and goes through the tiny holes in the casing. The fluids crack open the shale rock. The sand holds those cracks open. And the chemicals help the natural gas seep out.

5) The "flowback" stage: The water and chemicals flow back out of the well and are taken for disposal or treatment.

6) Finally, natural gas begins flowing from the shale and up out of the well, where it's eventually shipped to consumers via pipeline. A typical well can produce gas for 20 to 40 years, pumping out thousands of cubic feet of gas each day.

That's a very rough overview of the fracking process. There are plenty of variations, depending on the geology of the region or the technologies used. (Often other particles besides sand are used, for instance. And here's a partial listing of some of the different techniques used in North Dakota, for example.)

Where is fracking taking place in the United States?

This interactive map from the Post Carbon Institute shows the location of more than 63,000 shale oil wells and shale gas wells around the country. Much of the activity is concentrated in Texas, North Dakota, Louisiana, and the Marcellus Shale region in the East:

These aren't the onlyoil and gas wells in the United States (shale represents about 29 percent of total oil production and 40 percent of gas). But they're the ones that tend to rely heavily on fracking.

The Energy Information Administration has its own map of the major shale formations around the country, including the Bakken in North Dakota, Eagle Ford in Texas, and the Marcellus up in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

How has fracking boosted US oil and gas production?

Since the late 2000s, the amount of oil and natural gas produced in the United States has risen dramatically, thanks to fracking, horizontal drilling, offshore drilling, and other advanced techniques. Supplies are projected to grow further in the years ahead:

Crude oil:By November 2013, the United States was producing 7.8 million barrels of crude oil each day, the most in a quarter-century. Oil production is now expected to keep growing until it reaches a peak of 9.6 million barrels per day in 2019:

Natural gas: US natural gas production has also reached new historical highs, to 24 trillion cubic feet in November 2013. Supplies are currently expected to grow until at least 2040:

Note that these predictions are far from perfect - ten years ago, few were predicting the fracking boom.

How has fracking affected the US economy?

The oil and gas boom - driven by fracking - has had all sorts of effects on the US economy. Here are a few of the big ones:

More jobs in some states:More drilling means more jobs. The oil and gas industry added 169,000 positions between 2010 and 2012 - growing ten times faster than the nation as a whole. Texas, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania have seen some of the biggest gains:

Higher economic growth:The oil and gas industry is a fairly small portion of the overall US economy, but analysts tend to agree that the fracking boom has helped bolster the country's growth a bit. JP Morgan estimates that the oil and gas boom added 0.3 percentage points to economic growth in 2013. Other models suggest that the boom could add 0.5 percentage points to growth each year for the next decade.

Lower energy prices (sometimes): Oil is still quite expensive - because the price of crude oil depends on global supply and demand factors. But US natural gas prices have fallen significantly since the mid-2000s (though they rebounded during the cold 2013 winter, as heating demand surged). That's saved consumers money . It also means that power plants are more likely to use natural gas for electricity.

The decline of coal power: Many electric utilities have taken advantage of cheap prices to switch from coal to natural gas as their preferred power source. That switch has reduced a variety of air pollutants, as well as carbon-dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. This trend is hurting the coal industry - and one reason why one-fourth of the nation's coal power plants have closed since 2011.

A boost for US manufacturing: America's glut of cheap natural gas is also luring some manufacturers to the United States. Factories being built in Texas and Pennsylvania will convert natural gas into ethylene, a key ingredient in plastics and antifreeze. (That said, it's unclear how many companies this will affect - as a note from Morgan Stanley points out, energy is still a small fraction of costs for most industries.)

Lower imports: The United States is importing far less oil and natural gas than it used to - one reason why the trade deficit has dropped to its lowest level since 1998. Indeed, many companies are now arguing that US government should loosen its restrictions on selling American oil and gas abroad.

Does fracking pollute the water and air?

It can. As fracking operations have spread out across the United States, they've triggered protests over air and water pollution. Here's an overview of some of the key concerns:

Groundwater contamination: One big concern is whether the chemicals used in fracking or the natural gas itself could contaminate people's drinking water. (There's the worry, for instance, that natural gas leaks could make people's tap water flammable.)

There are two big ways this might happen. One is through accidents or contamination near the surface. In recent years, fracking wells have blown out in states like North Dakota. In another incident, thousands of gallons of fracking fluid leaked out of a storage tank in Dimock, Pennsylvania. And poorly constructed wells with cement problemscan allow fluids or gas to migrate upward. The Environmental Protection Agency is currently conducting a big study into this type of contamination and how to prevent it.

A second question is whether chemicals or natural gas could somehow migrate from the fracked shale layer thousands of feet up into the groundwater - even if the wells are perfectly constructed. This second possibility is considered unlikely, since there are dozens of layers of rock separating the shale from groundwater. Still, the EPA had been studying one (relatively shallow) well in Wyoming where chemicals appeared to have seeped into the water.

Wastewater pollution:A separate issue is what happens with all that water after it has been used to crack open shale and is pumped back up to the surface. The oil and gas industry produces billions of gallons of this murky wastewater each year, which typically contains chemicals that were added for the fracking process.

In many states, this wastewater is pumped back underground into separate "injection wells." But when there aren't enough injection wells available, the water is either stored in tanks and holding ponds or sent off to treatment plants. That raises the risk of either accidental spills or improper treatment. In 2013, three treatment plants in Pennsylvania were fined for dumping waste into the Allegheny River.

Air pollution: Once an area of shale has been fracked, natural gas begins flowing up out of the well. Most of this methane is typically captured, but some of it can escape into the air or leak out of pipelines - and methane is a potent greenhouse gas, heating the planet.

Separately, another report found that certain chemical gases such as benzene can escape into the air, posing health risks for nearby residents in Colorado. In 2012, the EPA began requiring oil and gas companies to limit these emissions and capture the escaped gas.

What chemicals are used in fracking?

Oil and gas companies typically add chemicals to the water used for fracking. Those chemicals can help decrease friction or prevent corrosion and so forth. They typically make up about 0.5 percent to 2 percent of the fluid volume.

Different operations require different chemicals, but all told some 2,500 different fracking chemicals have been identified. A good list can be found here. Some of the additives used are quite ordinary, including salt and citric acid. Others, like benzene, are toxic. (One congressional investigation identified at least 650 toxic additives that have been used.)

It can sometimes be difficult to get a full list of chemicals used. Many fracking companies are now listing the compounds they employ on their websites, and some states like Texas have public disclosure laws, but these rules can vary from state to state.

Does fracking use a lot of water?

Fracking requires a lot of water to crack open the shale rock. A typical well can use between 2 million to 7 million gallons over the course of its lifetime.

How much is that all together? In 2011, water used for shale wells represented about 0.3 percent of all US freshwater consumption. But the percentages can vary by region - in Texas, it's about 1 percent.

That raises the question of whether it can stress local water supplies. In dry regions of Texas or Colorado, fracking operations can put a fair bit of stress on local water sources. But that's not universal. In the Marcellus region in the East, by contrast, studies have found that there's no danger of a water shortage.

How is fracking regulated in the United States?

Fracking is currently regulated by the states, who have very different rules on everything from the disclosure of chemicals to wastewater treatment to well casings.

You can find a number of useful maps showing the state of play for different fracking regulations at Resources for the Future. This map, for instance, shows how different states regulate the injection of wastewater underground. Missouri has no regulations, whereas North Carolina has a statewide ban:

One major issue is whether the US federal government should get more involved in fracking regulations. Currently, the Environmental Protection Agency has issued rules requiring oil and gas companies to limit air pollution from fracking operations, and it is currently studying groundwater contamination. But, for now, the feds have tread lightly. And Congress has exempted fracking from certain provisions of the Clean Water Act.

Some states and localities, meanwhile, have proposed blanket bans on fracking. New York state, for instance, has had a moratorium since 2010. Here's a longer list of regulations in the United States.

Can fracking cause earthquakes?

Fracking itself has rarely been linked to earthquakes (though Ohio is investigating this). But the disposal of all the wastewater used in fracking has been known to cause tremors.

Once a well is fracked, there are thousands of gallons of wastewater left over. Companies often dispose of that chemical-laced water by pumping it into separate underground "injection wells." As the water pressure builds up in those wells, that can shift rocks around. If those rocks lie near a geologic fault, that could trigger a tremor. At least, that's the theory.

One study by the U.S. Geologic Survey found that earthquakes were on the rise in areas where wastewater injection was increasing. A follow-up study found that wastewater injection likely caused a 2011 earthquake in Oklahoma.

It's worth noting that not all injection wells are associated with earthquakes, and many of these events were minor tremors. Still, there are plenty of questions about whether these earthquakes could get stronger as fracking expands.

How much oil and gas does the US have?

As of 2011, the United States had 220 billion barrels of oil and 2,203 trillion cubic feet of natural gas that was "technically recoverable."

This is oil and gas that we currently have the technology to access. But that doesn't mean we'll actually extract all that oil and gas. A lot depends on economic conditions. If prices go higher, then it will become more profitable for companies to drill for more oil and gas. But if prices fall, it becomes less profitable and they might just leave it in the ground.

That's why many analysts focus on a different measure, known as "proved reserves" - the stuff we could recover given existing technology and economic conditions. By that measure, there are 29 billion barrels of oil and 348.8 trillion cubic feet of natural gas available.

To put that all into perspective, the United States consumed about 7 billion barrels of oil and 26 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2012. So that means we have anywhere from a 13 years' supply of natural gas to an 84 years' supply. It all depends.

What do we use oil and gas for?

Lots of things. About 93 percent of the fuel we use for transportation comes from oil. And natural gas is currently used to provide about one-third of the nation's electricity. Here's a more precise breakdown:

Oil:The U.S. currently consumes about 15 million barrels of crude oil each day - after it's processed by oil refineries. Roughly 87 percent is turned into fuel for cars, trucks, and airplanes. Some of the oil is refined into home heating fuel. The rest is used for a wide array of industrial purposes (to make chemicals, paints, plastics, greases, asphalt, and so forth).

Natural gas:The United States consumed about 25 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in 2012. About 36 percent of that was used to generate electricity at power plants. Another 28 percent was used to heat homes and buildings. And the rest was used for various industrial purposes (generating electricity or heat to help produce everything from steel to paper to food).

What's the debate over US oil and gas exports?

For the past few decades, the United States has been a major importer of oil and natural gas. But thanks to the fracking boom, the country is now in a position to sell some of its newfound abundance to other countries. But that would require changing certain laws - and doing so is controversial.

Natural gas:If companies want to ship natural gas to other countries, they need to get a permit from the Department of Energy to do so (they get one automatically if the United States has a free trade agreement with that country). More and more companies are applying for export permits these days and building shipping terminals.

Opponents of these plans say that increased exports could lead to increases in the price of natural gas for Americans, hurting consumers and domestic manufacturers. See here for more detail.

Oil: Ever since the 1970s, it has been illegal for companies to export crude oil abroad (with a few exceptions). In the wake of the fracking boom, many oil companies want to revise these laws, claiming that these restrictions are depressing prices and hurting their business. Opponents of exports argue, among other things, that this could raise gasoline prices for some drivers in the Midwest. See here for more detail.

Can the US become independent from foreign oil?

Not likely - in part because "oil independence" is a bit of a myth.

Right now, the United States imports 40 percent of the oil that it consumes. That number is expected to shrink to about 32 percent in the decades ahead, thanks to increased production and the fact that we're driving more efficient vehicles. But it still means plenty of imports:

Even if we could reduce our imports all the way to zero, however, the United States still wouldn't be totally independent of foreign countries. That's because oil prices are set on the global market. So instability in the Middle East or rapid growth in China would still drive up global oil prices - leading to price spikes here in the United States.

Can natural gas help tackle global warming?

In theory, yes - though there are large caveats here.

Natural gas is a fossil fuel, and when we burn it for electricity, we produce carbon-dioxide emissions that contribute to global warming. But natural gas is much cleaner on this score than coal is, producing just half the carbon dioxide per unit of energy. So when we replace coal with natural gas, we're contributing somewhat less to global warming.

That's what's happening in the United States. The glut of cheap shale gas has persuaded many electric utilities to switch from coal to natural gas. That was one reason why U.S. carbon-dioxide emissions fell 10 percent between 2005 and 2013 (the recession and increased efficiency also helped).

There's a catch, however: The whole process of fracking for and transporting natural gas can lead to emissions of methane, another potent greenhouse gas. No one's quite sure how big those methane leaks are - there's a lot of disagreement among researchers. But those leaks could potentially undermine the climate benefits of natural gas, unless companies find ways to fix them. Here's a rundown of potential fixes.

In the long run, however, natural gas is still a source of greenhouse-gas emissions, and efforts to avoid drastic global warming will likely require the world to sharply curtail its use of gas in the next few decades. So natural gas, by itself, isn't a solution for global warming. (See here for more detail on this.)

Do other countries use fracking?

A few countries have been using fracking for some time - particularly Canada. But shale fracking hasn't yet caught on anywhere the way it has in the United States.

Plenty of countries abroad have their own shale gas and shale oil resources. That includes China, which appears to have nearly twice as much shale gas underground as the United States does:

But fracking has been slow to spread overseas, for a variety of reasons. Some countries, like France and the Netherlands, have banned fracking for fear of water contamination. Others, like Austria, have such strict regulations that drilling is uneconomical.

Even countries in favor of fracking have seen sluggish progress, in part because working with shale can be extremely difficult and complicated. In Poland, there's still plenty of work that has to be done to understand the region's geology. And, in China, the spread of fracking has been hampered by a variety of factors - complex geology, a dearth of water supplies in key regions, and a burdensome layer of regulations that hamper innovation.

You didn't answer my question!

This card stack is very much a work in progress. It will continue to be updated as events unfold, new research gets published, and fresh questions emerge.

So if you have additional questions or comments or quibbles or complaints, send a note to Brad Plumer: brad@vox.com.

What else should I read about fracking?

The US Energy Information Administration's website has a wealth of detail on the USoil and gas industry. You can find the answer to most questions about production or consumption there.

The International Energy Agency's report on "Golden Rules for a Golden Age of Gas" offers a comprehensive overview of fracking issues around the world, as well as a guide to questions about pollution and regulation.

Carl T. Montgomery and Michael B. Smith of NSI Technologies have written a nice, readable history of hydraulic fracturing.

ProPublica has constant coverage of various pollution issues related to fracking in the United States.

How have these cards changed?

This is a running list of substantive updates, corrections, and additions to this card stack. These cards were last updated on April 10, 2014. Here is a summary of edits:

Updated April 9:"Will the US boom reduce gasoline prices" to add the study from the Center for New American Security.

Corrected April 10:"What's the debate over US oil and gas exports" to reflect the fact that all companies must apply for natural gas export permits - even ones shipping to countries with Free Trade Agreements.

April 11: Updated "How has fracking changed the US economy" to note that natural gas prices have rebounded during the 2012-13 winter. Updated "Do other countries use fracking?" to make clearer that other countries have used fracking, but haven't yet tapped their shale resources the way the US has.

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"Fracking" is short for "hydraulic fracturing" - it's a process by which water, sand, and chemicals are injected underground at very high pressures to crack open rock layers and release the oil or gas trapped inside. Technically, fracking isn't new: Companies have been using this technique for decades to extract oil and gas from hard-to-exploit rock formations.

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What is fracking and why is it controversial?

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Rishi Sunak has announced he will reinstate the moratorium on fracking in his first PMQs.

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In recent years, you've probably heard the word "fracking" in the news. It's a controversial topic, with new fracking sites drawing protestors and debate wherever they appear.

But what exactly is fracking, when did it begin, and where does it take place in the UK? We'll drill down into everything you need to know in this useful guide.

What is fracking?

"Fracking" is a nickname for what's officially known as hydraulic fracturing.

It's a way of extracting gas and oil that lies beneath the surface of the earth. First, it involves drilling into shale rock, at the bottom of the sea. Then, water and chemicals are injected into the cracks in the rock at high pressure.

This splits open the shale rock formations, sending the oil and gas that lies beneath up to the surface of the water. These are then collected, and used to generate energy.

The initial idea for fracking dates all the way back to 1862, but it wasn't properly used by the oil and gas industries until the 1940s ¹. Lately, it's become more popular than ever around the world, especially in the USA, where there's been a huge surge.

Of the 1,000 wells in the US where fracking took place between 1940 and 2014, over a third were fractured after 2000 ².

What are shale gas and shale oil?

Shale is a type of rock that forms at the bottom of bodies of water. It's made up of silt and clay, and takes thousands of years to form.

Some of that shale contains pockets of natural gas. This has become trapped down there as animals and other living things have decomposed and fossilised. "Shale gas" is the term for natural gas that's trapped in, or underneath, shale.

"Shale oil" can either refer to crude oil that's found inside shale formations, or the oil that's made from shale ³.

Natural gas and crude oil are both types of fossil fuel. Find out more about fossil fuels by reading our complete guide.

How does fracking work?

Shale is often buried underground, so the first step in fracking is to drill a hole down to it. This can be as deep as 5,000 feet, and can take as long as a month ⁴. Once the drill reaches the shale layer, it continues to drill horizontally, to allow access to as much of the rock as possible.

This drilling creates what's called a "well". The well is lined with steel pipes or casing, and small holes are drilled into the sides.

Then, the actual fracking begins. This is when loads of water - as much as several million gallons - mixed with sand and chemicals is injected at high speed into the well ⁵. The pressure causes the shale rock to fracture more. This releases the gas or oil trapped inside, which then flows through into the pipes, and up through the well to the surface to be collected.

Where does fracking take place around the world?

Russia, Canada, Venezuela, and Australia currently have the most shale oil and gas sites. Other countries, like France and Belgium, have outlawed fracking ⁷.

Where is fracking happening in the UK?

In 2020, Cuadrilla - the firm who ran the site - gave up their permit . This means that they're no longer allowed to continue fracking in Lancashire.

Why is fracking controversial?

Supporters of fracking say that it boosts the economy and creates jobs ⁹.

But there's not a huge amount of research on it, and many are concerned about the potential health and environmental effects of fracking.

This means there are lots of protest groups who call for an end to fracking, including in the UK.

What are the effects of fracking on the environment?

While research into fracking's impact is still emerging, there are a few clear disadvantages.

It uses a huge amount of water. The water that's used for fracking is often fresh, which means it could have been used as drinking water. This puts a strain on the local water supply¹⁰.

It pollutes water. There's scientific evidence that the use of chemicals and other pollutants in hydraulic fracturing can have an impact on local drinking water. Spills, leaks and mismanagement of the wastewater created during fracking can all have an impact.

It also pollutes the air. There are lots of pollutants created in the process of fracking, as well as the transportation and use of the oil and gas that's released. It also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions - more on that below.

Earthquakes. Just as we saw in Blackpool, fracking is thought to cause earth tremors. In the US, there's been an "unprecedented increase" in earthquakes since 2009¹¹.

Does fracking contribute to climate change?

Yes. Natural gas and crude oil, which are released by fracking, are both a type of fossil fuel. This means that they're not only non-renewable (so they're going to run out at some point!), but burning them also contributes to climate change .

In the process of fracking, natural gas often escapes. This type of gas is mostly made up of methane, which is a super-strong greenhouse gas. It holds onto heat 28 times more effectively than carbon dioxide ¹², which is the greenhouse gas you usually hear the most noise about.

Scientific research in 2019 pointed to fracking as a likely cause for a "huge" spike in methane emissions ¹³. Since 2000, methane emissions have risen by 50 million tonnes per year, which is about the weight of 350 million cars ¹⁴.
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Sources and references: 15 Based on analysis carried out by the Carbon Trust for OVO Group (2020), 28% of an average individual's carbon footprint in the UK comes from energy. In this analysis, the carbon footprint includes the following lifestyle categories: energy, transport, shopping, food and drink and holidays. See table below for each category. This carbon footprint data has been calculated using BEIS 2020 emission factors. This excludes emissions from things that the average person cannot directly control such as supporting the NHS, defence, government bodies, etc. Please note these figures are not reflective of potential changes to your habits during the coronavirus pandemic.

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What Is Fracking and Why is it Controversial?

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In recent years, you've probably heard the word "fracking" in the news. It's a controversial topic, with new fracking sites drawing protestors and debate wherever they appear. But what exactly is fracking, when did it begin, and where does it take place in the UK?

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Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," is revolutionizing oil and gas drilling across the country. However, without rigorous safety regulations, it can poison groundwater, pollute surface water, impair wild landscapes, and threaten wildlife.

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.

Why is fracking dangerous for the environment and people?

Unfortunately, this process can go wrong, and if the oil or gas wells are not built sturdily enough, they can leak and contaminate groundwater. "Flowback" water can contaminate streams and water supplies. The rush into fracking has not kept pace with important environmental safeguards. For example, toxic fracking fluids, including known cancer-causing chemicals like benzene and toluene, are exempt from federal regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. And the federal government doesn't require that companies disclose what is in the fracking fluid - letting millions of gallons of toxic fluid into the ground on each drilling site without anyone but the drilling companies knowing what is in it.

How fracking damages wildlands

Hydraulic fracturing operations are already industrializing wild and rural landscapes, and putting agricultural and recreational economies at risk. Without rigorous safeguards, fracking could lead to poisoned water and blighted landscapes. Fracking also uses a lot of water. Each and every well requires millions of gallons of water - In arid places like the West, this could mean less water for fish and wildlife.

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The truth about fracking and the environment

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Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," is revolutionizing oil and gas drilling across the country. However, without rigorous safety regulations, it can poison groundwater, pollute surface water, impair wild landscapes, and threaten wildlife. 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.

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Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" as it is more commonly known, is just one small method of the broader process of unconventional development of oil and natural gas. Fracking is a proven drilling technology used for extracting oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, or water from deep underground. Fracking has been safely used in the United States since 1947. More than 1.7 million U.S. wells have been completed using the fracking process, producing more than seven billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Put simply, hydraulic fracturing is the process of injecting liquid and materials at high pressure to create small fractures within tight shale formations to stimulate the production and safely extract energy from an underground well after the drilling has ended and the rig and derrick are removed from the site. The process takes about three to five days, on average, to complete from start to finish. Once the fracturing operation is finished, the well is considered "completed" and is now ready to safely produce American oil or natural gas for years, even decades, to come.

Fracking is a uniquely American success story that has provided immense benefits around the nation. By safely unlocking America's abundant natural resources, fracking has created millions of American jobs, reduced energy prices, brought cleaner air by significantly reducing U.S. greenhouse gas emissions to 25-year-lows, strengthened our national security, and transformed the United States into a global energy superpower.

How has fracking impacted U.S. oil and natural gas production?

In roughly a decade's time, advances in fracking technology have reversed the United States' trajectory from that of energy scarcity to being "the undisputed leader of oil and gas production worldwide," according to International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol.

From 2007 to 2016, annual U.S. oil production increased 75 percent, while natural gas production increased 39 percent, thanks to the advancements in horizontal drilling and fracking technology.

How many American jobs has fracking created?

Millions. A 2015 Harvard Business School/Boston Consulting Group analysis estimates that shale development created roughly 2.7 million U.S. jobs in the first decade of the shale revolution. A 2013 study, commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, projected fracking will create a total of 3.5 million U.S. jobs by 2035. A separate 2017 American Petroleum Institute (API) report found that the oil and natural gas industry supports 10.3 million jobs in the U.S. - a 500,000 increase since 2011 - and projects the industry will support an additional 1.9 million jobs by 2035.

Is fracking a threat to public health?

No. In fact, there is ample evidence that increased natural gas use - made possible by fracking - has improved public health by dramatically improving air quality in recent years. This is not to say there are no risks, but the full body of research on this issue shows that those risks are manageable.

Several state departments of environmental protection have also installed air monitors at well sites and found that emissions during oil and natural gas development do not exceed public health thresholds. For example, the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment released a 2017 report that found a "low risk of harmful health effects from combined exposure to all substances during oil and gas development." In contrast, many of the most headline-grabbing studies linking fracking to health issues have been plagued by questionable methodologies and contradictory results. Visit EIDHealth.org for more information.

Does fracking threaten groundwater?

No. And you don't have to take our word for it. No fewer than two dozen scientific studies have concluded that fracking does not pose a major threat to groundwater. Most notably, a landmark 2016 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study concluded that, "[H]ydraulic fracturing operations are unlikely to generate sufficient pressure to drive fluids into shallow drinking water zones." The EPA reached this conclusion even after expanding the definition of fracking to include a wide range of other oilfield activities, demonstrating the safety of the entire development process.

Does fracking cause earthquakes?

Very rarely. Although induced seismicity (particularly in Oklahoma) has made headlines in recent years, earthquakes attributable to the actual fracking process are exceedingly rare and generally below the magnitude that people can actually feel. Induced earthquakes are more commonly linked to wastewater injection - a completely separate process from fracking.

The U.S. Geological Survey maintains a useful myths and misconceptions page regarding induced seismicity. According to the USGS: "Fracking is NOT causing most of the induced earthquakes." The USGS also notes: "Wastewater disposal is the primary cause of the recent increase in earthquakes in the central United States."

BLM Hydraulic Fracturing Rule

The Obama administration's Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released on March 20, 2015 its final rule regulating hydraulic fracturing activities on federal and Indian lands. As it was written, this precedent-setting regulation would be difficult and costly for small- and medium-sized businesses to comply with and would likely discourage U.S. investment and job creation in the West. IPAA and Western Energy Alliance immediately challenged the BLM hydraulic fracturing rule in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming, characterizing the federal government's rulemaking as unsubstantiated and duplicative of states' efforts to effectively regulate hydraulic fracturing operations. Soon after, the states of Colorado, Wyoming, North Dakota, and Utah, and the Ute Indian Tribe joined the legal challenge. States have successfully regulated more than 1.2 million hydraulic fracturing operations for 70 years and many states have recently strengthened their regulations as production has increased and technology has improved. The 2015 nationwide fracking rule is unnecessary and would add another layer of burden for America's independent oil and natural gas producers already struggling to navigate the complex and confusing regulatory program governing federal lands.

On September 30, 2015, a judge for the U.S. District Court of Wyoming granted IPAA and Western Energy Alliance's motion for a preliminary injunction of the rule, stating, "Congress has not authorized or delegated to the BLM authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing and, under our constitutional structure, it is only through Congressional action that the BLM can acquire this authority." On June 21, 2016, shortly after the preliminary injunction appeal case was fully briefed, the District Court judge struck down the BLM final rule. The judge agreed with industry that BLM does not have the congressional authority to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal lands.

As expected, the Obama administration and environmental parties on June 30, 2016 filed an appeal to the District Court's ruling with the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. In September 2017, the Tenth Circuit Court dismissed the case, protecting producers from the business uncertainty of having to potentially comply with a regulation that is certain to be rewritten by the Trump administration. On December 29, 2017, President Trump's BLM published a repeal of the Obama-era hydraulic fracturing rule, which took immediate effect and ended the Tenth Circuit Court appellate case. On January 28, 2018, the state of California as well as the Sierra Club sued the BLM over the repeal of the 2015 rule in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. IPAA and Western Energy Alliance have filed for intervention on behalf of the federal government as well as filed a motion for venue transfer back to Wyoming.

Read the Frequently Asked Questions on the 2015 BLM hydraulic fracturing rule.

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Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" as it is more commonly known, is just one small method of the broader process of unconventional development of oil and natural gas. Fracking is a proven drilling technology used for extracting oil, natural gas, geothermal energy, or water from deep underground.

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Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, is a drilling technique used for extracting oil or natural gas from deep underground.

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.

Most fracking wells in use today rely on two technologies: hydraulic fracturing, which has been in use since the 1940s, and horizontal drilling, a technique that first became widespread in the 1990s, according to Columbia University's Earth Institute.

In simplified terms, the fracking process starts with a well that is drilled vertically or at an angle from the surface to a depth of 1 to 2 miles (1.6 to 3.2 kilometers) or more, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The vertical well is then encased in steel and/or cement to ensure the well doesn't run the risk of leaking into any groundwater.

Once the vertical well reaches the deep layer of rock where natural gas or oil exists, the well curves about 90 degrees and begins drilling horizontally along that rock layer. Horizontal drilling can extend more than 1 mile (1.6 km) from the vertical well bore, according to Texas A&M University's publication " Hydraulic Fracturing and your Private Water Well."

After the fracking well is fully drilled and encased, fracking fluid is pumped down into the well at extremely high pressure, in some cases exceeding 9,000 pounds per square inch (62,050 kilopascals), according to a primer from Cornell University's environmental quality engineering course. The pressure is powerful enough to fracture the surrounding rock, creating fissures and cracks through which oil and gas can flow.

The fluid that is pumped into the well to fracture the rock is called slickwater. It is mostly water, though it also can contain a wide range of additives and chemicals that serve an engineering purpose. Additives can include detergents, salts, acids, alcohols, lubricants and disinfectants. These chemical additives usually make up 0.5 to 2 percent of the slickwater, with the remaining 98 to 99.5 percent consisting of plain water, according to a report called "Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States" by the U.S. Department of Energy.

In addition to the water and chemical additives, "proppants" such as sand and ceramic particles are also pumped into the fracking well. These proppants are added to prop open the fractures that form under pressure, thereby ensuring that gas and oil can continue to flow freely out of rock fractures even after pumping pressure is released, according to the EPA.

Once the underground rock is shattered and proppants are pumped into place, trapped reservoirs of gas and oil are released and pumped back to the surface, along with millions of gallons of "flowback" liquid, according to the EPA.

The flowback liquid contains water and a number of contaminants, including radioactive material, heavy metals, hydrocarbons and other toxins. This wastewater is stored on the fracking site in pits, injected into deep underground wells or disposed of off-site at a wastewater treatment facility.

"Formation water" is the briny water that was in the pore spaces of the rocks. "The formation water is usually very salty and can have high levels of radon, a radioactive gas that comes from the decay of uranium in the subsurface," Marcia Bjornerud, a structural geologist at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin, told Live Science. "Flowback water can be treated, but there are large volumes of it and so dealing with it is expensive, and beyond what many small-town water treatment plants can handle."

Though fracking is used worldwide to extract gas and oil, a fracking boom has occurred recently in the United States, partly driven by concerns over the costs associated with imported oil and other fossil fuels as well as energy security - that is, having uninterrupted access to energy at affordable prices in ways that are preferably impervious to international disruptions, according to the Brookings Institution.

In 2000, there were about 276,000 natural gas wells in the United States. But by 2010, that number had almost doubled to 510,000, according to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). And every year, about 13,000 new wells are drilled. According to a 2014 study, at least 15.3 million Americans have lived within a mile of a fracking well that has been drilled since 2000.

The areas where fracking is most profitable include the Great Plains from Canada south into Texas, the Great Lakes region and an area known as the Marcellus Shale, which reaches from central New York into Ohio and south to Virginia, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).

The Marcellus Shale region is particularly attractive to gas drillers because it's a rich supply of natural gas - some call it " the Saudi Arabia of natural gas" or " Frackistan" - and because many of the region's rural communities are economically depressed and eager to attract an energy industry that enjoys handsome profits.

Proponents of fracking claim that the drilling technique is a safe and clean method of securing essential sources of power that will meet U.S. energy needs for decades.

"Fracking has unlocked massive new supplies of oil and clean-burning natural gas from dense deposits of shale - supplies that increase our country's energy security and improve our ability to generate electricity, heat homes and power vehicles for generations to come," according to EnergyFromShale.org, an alliance of oil and gas industry groups.

But opponents say the industry is whitewashing fracking's real effects, a long list that includes air pollution, groundwater contamination, health problems and surface water pollution.

Recent history supports some of their claims: A fracking well in Bradford County, Pa., operated by Chesapeake Energy Corp., malfunctioned in April 2011, spewing thousands of gallons of contaminated fracking water for more than 12 hours.

And in 2012, Chesapeake was again cited for contaminating the drinking water of three families in Pennsylvania, resulting in a settlement of $1.6 million, according to NPR.org. "Many companies keep their specific 'recipes' for fracking fluids secret, arguing that this is intellectual property," Bjornerud said. "This lack of disclosure makes it difficult to tie any contamination of drinking water to a particular company or well."

Researchers from Duke University tested drinking water at 60 sites throughout Pennsylvania and New York; their research was published in 2011 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The researchers found that drinking water near fracking wells had levels of methane that "fell squarely within a range that the U.S. Department of Interior says is dangerous and requires urgent 'hazard mitigation' action," ProPublica reports.

There may be more cases of water that has been contaminated by fracking, but legal settlements and nondisclosure agreements usually prevent access to any documentation of these incidents, The New York Times reports.

A federal study, released in July 2014 by the DOE's National Energy Technology Laboratory, did find no evidence that chemicals from the fracking process had contaminated groundwater at one Pennsylvania drilling site.

In addition to water quality issues, fracking wells release compounds into the air, such as benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and n-hexane; long-term exposure to these has been linked to birth defects, neurological problems, blood disorders and cancer. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has found that workers may be exposed to dust with high levels of respirable silica during hydraulic fracturing. These findings were shared after NIOSH studied 116 full shift air samples at 11 hydraulic fracturing sites in five states.

Benzene, for example, is a known carcinogen, according to the American Cancer Society. In 2012, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health released a study showing that air pollution caused by fracking could contribute to immediate and long-term health problems for people living near fracking sites. Research by over 150 studies suggests that chemicals released during natural gas extraction may harm human reproduction and development. A 2016 study also found that living near a fracking site might increase a person's risk of developing mild, moderate or severe asthma.

Additionally, many areas of the United States not considered earthquake-prone, such as Ohio and Oklahoma, are now experiencing relatively strong seismic activity; a 2016 study found that the chances of a damaging earthquake occurring in parts of Oklahoma and some neighboring states are just as likely as they are in quake-prone California. Fracking is believed to be the cause of Oklahoma's strongest recorded quake in 2011 and more than 180 tremors in Texas between 2008 and 2009. To start off 2015, an area of North Texas had nine confirmed earthquakes in a 24-hour period. Fracking is being investigated as the cause. Two 2015 studies suggested that hidden faults beneath the surface may explain earthquakes in fracking zones; a 2016 study suggested that one way to calm the shaking was to limit the amount of wastewater pumped into wells deep underground.

According to a 2000 study of the Orito Field in Colombia, only around 15 percent of proppants can be removed after the fracking is done. Does leaving these foreign substances in a place where they weren't originally harmful? "No, there are no long- or short-term problems with leaving frack proppants in the fractures (fissures)," Rick Chamberlain, managing director the Berkeley Research Group, told Live Science.

Bjornerud agrees, "Even with the sand propping open the cracks, the weight of the overlying rock will, over months and years, cause the cracks to close and the rock's permeability return to about what it was before the fracking." According to Bjornerud, this is a problem for oil and gas production since the process has to be done quickly, soon after the fracking fluids have opened up micro-cracks, or the amount of oil and gas that can be extracted rapidly decreases as the cracks progressively shut.

Across the United States, fracking is regulated by a patchwork of state and local legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislators.

At the federal level, fracking is exempt from some of the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act, particularly the requirement to disclose the chemicals used in well injections.

Wyoming, Michigan and Texas, however, have regulations requiring full disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking. Dozens of other proposed regulations that control some portion of the fracking industry are now moving through the legislatures of states where fracking is a large and growing industry. Some cities are taking the matter into their own hands by banning fracking mines.

But by most accounts, America's fracking boom - especially in areas of shale gas - isn't going to stop anytime soon: The Annual Energy Outlook 2012 predicted that the country's ample supply of shale gas will account for nearly half of the natural gas produced in the U.S. by 2035. More current analysis shows a much more modest outlook for fracking due to dropping gas prices and overproduction.

Additional reporting by Charles Q. Choi and Alina Bradford, Live Science contributors

Additional resources

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Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, is a drilling technique used for extracting oil or natural gas from deep underground. 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.

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Fracking is the practice of digging into bedrock, and contracting water or oil. While it provides resources, it is not entirely reliable, it pollutes, and it may destroy communities, common communities being those of color. while overall at one point fracking may have been reliable, even necessary, I believe that now it is discriminatory, damaging, and hurtful to the environment, especially since it can have disastrous effects on civilizations nearby. CUT THE FRACKING FRACKING, PEOPLE!

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Animation of Hydraulic Fracturing (fracking)

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Safe, cost-effective refinements in hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking), horizontal drilling and other innovations now allow for the production of oil and natural gas from tight shale formations that previously were inaccessible. This video introduces the proven techniques used to extract resources from shale formations in a safe, environmentally responsible manner.

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Studies have found that the fracking boom has resulted in dangerous levels of toxic air pollution, and pollution from fracking sites is suspected of contaminating the drinking water in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and several other states.

NRDC is fighting to protect people from the potential health risks of unchecked fracking. We call on state and federal agencies to set strong standards to limit harmful pollution and conduct more comprehensive studies into the health impacts of this oil and gas production technique. We also help communities make sense of existing research and educate policy makers about the threats to public health.

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.

Despite these potential risks, communities are often left in the dark about what energy companies are pumping into their backyards and neighborhoods. There is no federal requirement for drillers to report the chemicals they use, state provisions are often inadequate and poorly enforced, and there is very limited testing data for air and water quality. As a result, doctors and nurses often can't find out what a patient might have been exposed to in the event of an accident or spill, or when he or she has unexplained symptoms. We are pushing not only for full disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking but also better testing to ensure the air and water are safe. This information should be open to the public and available to researchers studying fracking's impacts on communities.

NRDC also works to close legal loopholes that oil and gas companies have exploited to avoid cleaning up after themselves. We are calling for government agencies to set strong standards to limit pollution, hold toxic fracking waste to the same standards as other types of hazardous waste, and to fund robust inspection and enforcement programs.

As we fight to secure these safeguards, we help communities protect themselves when their state and federal governments fail to stop reckless fracking. Our Community Fracking Defense Project helps towns and counties determine whether or how fracking should proceed within their borders-and how they can shield themselves from potential health threats.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Studies have found that the fracking boom has resulted in dangerous levels of toxic air pollution, and pollution from fracking sites is suspected of contaminating the drinking water in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and several other states. NRDC is fighting to protect people from the potential health risks of unchecked fracking.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Studies have found that the fracking boom has resulted in dangerous levels of toxic air pollution, and pollution from fracking sites is suspected of contaminating the drinking water in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and several other states.

NRDC is fighting to protect people from the potential health risks of unchecked fracking. We call on state and federal agencies to set strong standards to limit harmful pollution and conduct more comprehensive studies into the health impacts of this oil and gas production technique. We also help communities make sense of existing research and educate policy makers about the threats to public health.

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.

Despite these potential risks, communities are often left in the dark about what energy companies are pumping into their backyards and neighborhoods. There is no federal requirement for drillers to report the chemicals they use, state provisions are often inadequate and poorly enforced, and there is very limited testing data for air and water quality. As a result, doctors and nurses often can't find out what a patient might have been exposed to in the event of an accident or spill, or when he or she has unexplained symptoms. We are pushing not only for full disclosure of the chemicals used in fracking but also better testing to ensure the air and water are safe. This information should be open to the public and available to researchers studying fracking's impacts on communities.

NRDC also works to close legal loopholes that oil and gas companies have exploited to avoid cleaning up after themselves. We are calling for government agencies to set strong standards to limit pollution, hold toxic fracking waste to the same standards as other types of hazardous waste, and to fund robust inspection and enforcement programs.

As we fight to secure these safeguards, we help communities protect themselves when their state and federal governments fail to stop reckless fracking. Our Community Fracking Defense Project helps towns and counties determine whether or how fracking should proceed within their borders-and how they can shield themselves from potential health threats.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Studies have found that the fracking boom has resulted in dangerous levels of toxic air pollution, and pollution from fracking sites is suspected of contaminating the drinking water in Colorado, Pennsylvania, and several other states. NRDC is fighting to protect people from the potential health risks of unchecked fracking.

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contamination

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Fracking explained: opportunity or danger

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causes polution