What is fracking? Advantages and disadvantages
Fracking is a technique that facilitates the extraction of gas or oil from the subsoil using hydraulic pressure. It is also called hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing or fracturing, although the term fracking has become popular.
What is fracking?
This technique consists of drilling in the subsoil to build a well that reaches between 1,600 and 2,000 meters deep, with the purpose of creating channels of high permeability by injecting water under high pressure to overcome the resistance of rock, usually slate. In this way, a controlled fracture is generated in the bag where the oil or gas is stored, which rises to the surface. The water used contains supporting materials and chemicals (such as sand or ceramic).
It is especially suitable for the extraction of shale gas, also known as shale gas, shale gas or unconventional gas.
It is a hydrocarbon in a gaseous state that is located in very fine-grained sedimentary rock formations, at great depths. The rocks that store it have low permeability, which prevents gas from rising to the surface. For this reason, fracking is an alternative for its extraction and use: it makes it possible to fracture that rock.
Origin of fracking or hydraulic fracturing
In the late 1940s, the United States began experimenting with pressurized water for oil extraction. The same technique also began to be used in the USSR. In the mid-1950s, once perfected, it began to be popularized in the territories of North America and Great Britain.
How does fracking influence the hydrocarbon market?
The depletion of conventional gas fields, geopolitical and geographical difficulties in transporting them and their high price have focused on shale gas. Since the first decade of the 21st century, countries such as Canada and the United States have identified pockets of this type of hydrocarbon in their territory and have extended the technique of fracking as a solution for their extraction and commercial exploitation.
According to estimates from the International Energy Agency, the United States will have increased its oil and gas production capacity by 70% between 2019 and 2024 thanks to fracking.
What are the benefits of fracking?
The main advantage of fracking is that it facilitates access to unconventional hydrocarbon deposits, which until a few years ago could not be extracted. In this way, gas and oil can be accessed from countries and territories that until now relied on the outside to generate hydrocarbons.
Technical improvements make it possible to detect these unconventional hydrocarbons and optimize their extraction quickly and easily, making their price lower.
In addition, this new industry generates new jobs and economically reactivates the territories where gas or oil is extracted.
What are the disadvantages of fracking?
However, fracking has several disadvantages to consider:
- Pollution: the use of water with chemical substances and supporting materials can cause aquifer pollution, with the consequent risk to ecosystems and the health of citizens. In addition, rock fracturing can lead to uncontrolled escapes of gases that generate emissions (for example, methane gas or CO2).
- Water use: Water consumption for commercial exploitation of oil or gas through fracking is high. It is estimated that the American fracking industry uses an amount equivalent to the annual consumption of water in cities such as Madrid, Spain. In the context of climate change and water stress, it is important to reflect on whether it compensates for the use of water dedicated exclusively to fracking.
Seismic risk: numerous geologists have demonstrated the connection between the practice of fracking and earthquakes, with the corresponding risk to ecosystems and communities close to exploitation.
Risks of escapes or explosions: rock fracturing, as we have seen, can result in the escape of gases, sometimes toxic. In addition, there may be a risk of explosion. Another danger to consider is the release of radioactive substances.
Waste generation: Fracking generates tons of contaminated sludge that must be treated. A well can produce up to 20 tons of this type of sludge annually. In addition, they generate contaminated water that also needs to be treated.
