Hydraulic Fracturing
The link between hydraulic fracturing and U.S. global leadership in oil and natural gas production is direct: Without fracking, there’d be no American energy renaissance – or the array of benefits it is providing to our economy, to individual households, U.S. manufacturers and other businesses. Modern hydraulic fracturing – fracking has been used commercially for decades – is the technological engine behind surging U.S. oil and natural gas output. According to the U.S. Energy Department, up to 95 percent of new wells drilled today are hydraulically fractured, which, according to the EIA in 2018, accounts for two-thirds of total U.S. marketed natural gas production and about half of U.S. crude oil production.
Modern hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling allow multiple wells to be drilled from one spot, reducing the size of the drilling area above ground by as much as 90 percent. Fracking is the key to unlocking vast U.S. shale resources, freeing up oil and natural gas that previously was inaccessible while protecting groundwater supplies and the environment. America’s shale energy revolution is privately financed and technologically driven. It’s also an economic dynamo. For example, shale natural gas and oil projects in just one region, the Marcellus shale, were responsible for more than 72 million man hours of direct and indirect labor construction hours from 2008 through the first half of 2014. By helping to lower power and materials costs, as well as stimulating economic activity for a variety of businesses like service and supply companies, fracking has supported growth across an economy that has struggled.
Hydraulic fracturing is modern technology, safely and responsibly developing vast reserves of oil and natural gas from shale and other tight-rock formations. It’s the backbone of an energy renaissance that’s making the U.S. more prosperous and safer in the world today. The combination of industry standards, best practices and effective state and federal regulation is protecting communities and the environment – while making available increasing volumes of cleaner-burning natural gas that is allowing the U.S. to lead the world in reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation.