The future of Fracking
What is fracking?
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is better known, is a method of extracting oil and gas trapped in shale and other rock formations.
The modern version involves pumping large amounts of water down a well at high pressure, along with sand and chemicals that make up a tiny fraction of the volume. Together, this “stimulation fluid” fractures the rock and releases the gas or oil, which flows to the surface. The hole drilled for a well is about the size of a manhole cover.
As the UK industry body explains, the sand is there to keep fractures in the rock open. The chemicals are included for several purposes, such as lubrication and keeping bacteria out.
The other big technological development that has made fracking economical is horizontal drilling. This means that several horizontal boreholes can be drilled off one well, like tributaries off a river, maximising the amount of oil and gas that can be recovered. This spring, either Third Energy in North Yorkshire or Cuadrilla in Lancashire will become the first company to frack in the UK since 2011.
Fracking can also be undertaken on a well that has already been drilled and for which conventional techniques were unable to extract more hydrocarbons.
What does the future hold?
After years of delays, whether fracking in the UK ever takes off remains to be seen, but industry claims America’s continued progress will help them. UK-based iGas, which plans to frack one well and drill several others in 2018, told the Guardian it is taking advantage of advances in technology made in the US.
In the short term, fracking looks likely to stay as a largely American story, unless China decides to seriously invest in extracting its vast shale gas reserves, which are estimated to eclipse those in the US.
“What is happening in the US is all driven by the shale revolution,” said Birol. That revolution will have profound ramifications around the world for years to come, from Europe’s reliance on Russian gas to US foreign policy and headaches for the oil cartel, Opec.
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