Hydraulic fracturing has become a very popular issue in the United States. Hydraulic fracturing, referred to as fracking, is a process used by natural gas producers to fracture the shale rock below Earth’s surface to produce natural gas that was once thought unreachable. The boom of natural gas has brought jobs and it has also made almost dead communities flourish with people. Although it produces satisfactory results some people do not agree with the process. Fracking is a dirty process that involves the use of many volatile chemicals that would be harmful to the earth and humans if not dealt with properly. This controversy has led to heated debates of the process of fracking and whether or not it is safe for the Earth. Not a lot is known
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The increase in fracking has nearly doubled the reserve base and brought domestic natural gas reserves to an all time high (Fitzgerald). Fracking is proving itself a very successful tactic in extracting natural gas. Down hole fractures can increase the downhome surface area by several thousand times (Fitzgerald). If the surface area is increased that means much more natural gas is being produced. This is a reason why fracking is becoming so popular and widely used. If a producer wanted to produce the same amount of natural gas without fracking he would have to drill hundreds of more wells (Fitzgerald). Fracking actually saves a lot of money considering to drill that many more wells it would decrease profit to a fraction of the original. Fracking therefore increases the initial flow and increase the total recovery (Fitzgerald). Initial flow is very important to many oil producers because they depend on getting their profit from the well as fast as possible. The fact that fracking is increasing the total recovery is very important for the future of the oil business because it shows that the oil industry as a whole is producing more hydrocarbons. Oil and gas resources are very extensive, but the location, profitability, and feasibility of the well are not certain (Fitzgerald). Since fracking increases down whole surface area, fracking is making it more likely that natural gas will be located. Profiteers love this extra probability of success, and in the long run the success is what is going to help the world’s nonrenewable resources last
The increase in fracking has nearly doubled the reserve base and brought domestic natural gas reserves to an all time high (Fitzgerald). Fracking is proving itself a very successful tactic in extracting natural gas. Down hole fractures can increase the downhome surface area by several thousand times (Fitzgerald). If the surface area is increased that means much more natural gas is being produced. This is a reason why fracking is becoming so popular and widely used. If a producer wanted to produce the same amount of natural gas without fracking he would have to drill hundreds of more wells (Fitzgerald). Fracking actually saves a lot of money considering to drill that many more wells it would decrease profit to a fraction of the original. Fracking therefore increases the initial flow and increase the total recovery (Fitzgerald). Initial flow is very important to many oil producers because they depend on getting their profit from the well as fast as possible. The fact that fracking is increasing the total recovery is very important for the future of the oil business because it shows that the oil industry as a whole is producing more hydrocarbons. Oil and gas resources are very extensive, but the location, profitability, and feasibility of the well are not certain (Fitzgerald). Since fracking increases down whole surface area, fracking is making it more likely that natural gas will be located. Profiteers love this extra probability of success, and in the long run the success is what is going to help the world’s nonrenewable resources last