Hydraulic Fracturing

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

Hydraulic fracturing is an unconventional natural extraction method from shale rock formations deep in the ocean that has huge influence and future implications in global energy industry, particularly for the US at the moment. The fracking process involves the application of highly pressurized pumping water, chemicals and proppants into shale rock formations to open cracks in the rock structure and allow the free flow of natural gas from these rock fractures to the production well. Hydraulic fracturing method has gained widespread use since 2003 with innovative extraction techniques developed by George P. Mitchell, a Texas based entrepreneur. This method allows the extraction of natural gas trapped in shale formations, previously too difficult and costly to recover, in a much more effective way. As a result of that, hydraulic fracturing has resulted in a natural gas supply boom since 2003 when energy companies began actively expanding natural gas exploration with an emphasis in shale formations in Texas, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Wyoming, Utah and Maryland. These intensive focus resulted in the climb of US shale gas production from virtually zero in 2000 to almost a quarter of U.S. natural gas today in 2012. Furthermore, shale gas production is expected to comprise 46% of total US natural gas by 2035, according to U.S. government's Energy Information Administration. The International Energy Agency says that by 2015, the United States will overtake Russia as the world's biggest gas producer. This technology has currently been used only in the US in large scale. While there are various countries around the globe with significant shale gas potential such as China, Mexico, Argentina, Poland and Australia, most of the work done in those countries at the moment are limited to exploration activities since hydraulic fracturing method has to be customized based on each countries' rock structure & formations.

Below are the major benefits that hydraulic fracturing brought for the US:

* The huge potential of shale gas will transform the US from being a natural gas importer to an export, resulting in greater energy independence for the US.

* Natural gas prices have significantly dropped with the widespread application of hydraulic fracturing technique. Prices are about 40 percent lower today than in 2007., making natural gas a cheaper and