Introduction
Hydraulic fracturing is a new technology widely been accepted for the production of oil and gas from porous rocks. The technology has created thousands of jobs, created revenuer, and alternative sources of energy despite the accruing environmental problems.
Thesis statement
The hydraulic fracturing technique is a high-pressure injection process that was invented in 1947, which became commercially viable in 1950. It has led to the production of billions of metric tons of gas, creating millions of jobs despite the resulting adverse environmental impacts.
Hydraulic fracturing differs from the conventional methods in that the technology uses pressurized water that consists of several propellants combined with sand and thickening agents (Fu, Johnson, & Carrigan, 2013). The mixture is injected into the deep rock formations of the earth to fracture them and make petroleum, natural gas, and brine to flow freely for the extraction of oil shale and shale gas. Wind, nuclear, and coal differ from fracturing because they depend on the conversion of already available fuels.
According to Fu et al. (2013), despite the invention of hydraulic fracturing in 1947, it was rolled out in 1950. The technology gained industrial use in 20003 when many companies in the United States became actively involved in hydraulic fracturing.
According to Fisher and Warpinski (2012), fracturing is used in the extraction of oil and gas from rocks by exploiting the porosity and permeability of the rocks that allow methods such as in situ extraction to be used. In the future, hydraulic fracturing will be the most reliable sources of oil and gas extraction from rocks. However, environmental impacts include the emission of harmful gaseous substances and extensive land use, among others.
According to Fisher and Warpinski (2012, different amounts of gas are produced from each well depending on various factors, such as the size of the well. For instance, 9,000 pounds of gas are per square inch (62,050 kilopascals) in the U.S. that was estimated by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 21st Century Energy. However, the Primer – American Petroleum Institute estimates that figure to be 10 000 pounds per 62,050 kilopascals.
However, the difference is within the allowable limits. On the other hand, the cost of setting up a fracturing plan has been estimated to bet $7000, 000 for a single well. The cost includes machinery, drilling, fracturing, and water. Economies of many countries benefit significantly from hydraulic fracturing in terms of revenue generation from the gas and oil from the sites.
According to Fu et al. (2013), hydraulic fracturing has created millions of jobs in the energy industry. Significant investments have been made in the production of energy in the United States. Estimates by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s 21st Century Energy report shows that fracturing has caused a 98% positive impact on the economy by creating well-paying jobs and spurring economic growth. The jobs are likely to last as long as the hydraulic fracturing remains a viable business venture.
Conclusion
In conclusion, hydraulic fracturing has widely been accepted as an alternative technology of extracting oil and gas from porous rocks that are found in the depths of the earth. The technology has led to the creation of millions of jobs, economic development, and large quantities of gas despite the adverse environmental impact that usually happens when new technologies are put to use.
References
Fu, P., Johnson, S. M., & Carrigan, C. R. (2013). An explicitly coupled hydrogeomechanical model for simulating hydraulic fracturing in arbitrary discrete fracture networks. International Journal for Numerical and Analytical Methods in Geomechanics, 37(14), 2278-2300.
Fisher, M. K., & Warpinski, N. R. (2012). Hydraulic-fracture-height growth: Real data. SPE Production & Operations, 27(01), 8-19.