What are the two types of fracking?

Most fracking wells in use today rely on two technologies: hydraulic fracturing, which has been in use since the 1940s, and horizontal drilling, a technique that first became widespread in the 1990s, according to Columbia University’s Earth Institute.

What is the difference between fracking and fracturing?

Hydraulic fracturing, informally referred to as “fracking,” is an oil and gas well development process that typically involves injecting water, sand, and chemicals under high pressure into a bedrock formation via the well.

What are the three stages of fracking?

A typical HF job includes three basic stages (1) fracture initiation, (2) fracture propagation, and (3) flow-back.

What is the difference between fracking and drilling?

The Main Differences Fracking uses fracking fluid to further expand the pockets of shale to enable the extraction of more oil and natural gas resources, while drilling simply pulls from the oil and natural gas readily available in the reservoir.

What is fracturing and pump?

Frac pumps are diesel-engine-powered fracturing equipment used in hydraulic fracturing of shale rock formations to extract the trapped oil and gas. With fracking technology thriving across the US, frac pumps that can pump fracking fluid down the wellbore (water, silica sand, and fracking chemicals) are in high demand.

What’s the process of fracking?

In the fracking process, cracks in and below the Earth’s surface are opened and widened by injecting water, chemicals, and sand at high pressure. Some resources extracted through fracking are called “tight oil” or “tight gas,” because these pockets of fossil fuels are tightly trapped in hard shale rock formations.

Is fracking the same as horizontal drilling?

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, first invented in 1947, is the process of extracting oil or natural gas from rock formations through drilling – today, using a technique known as horizontal drilling – and then using high pressured water to move the natural gas or oil to the surface where it is collected.

How much pressure is used in fracking?

9,000 pounds per square inch
With the fracking well encased in steel and/or cement to prevent leakage into ground water, a fracking fluid is pumped down the well at pressures that can exceed 9,000 pounds per square inch (psi) or 62,050 kilopascals (kPA).

How does hydraulic fracturing work?

To overcome this pressure, the process of hydraulic fracturing introduces fluids until the pressure exerted by the added fluids overcomes the tensile strength of the rock causing fractures. These fractures are generally oriented in a perpendicular position from the wellbore since that is the origin point of the fracturing fluids.

How much pressure is used in hydraulic fracking?

Fracturing equipment will be operated across a range of different pressures and injection rates which are specific to the well. On the high end of the spectrum, the pressure used for hydraulic fracking may as high as 15,000 psi and the injection rate could be as much as 100 barrels per minutes.

What makes fracking pumps more efficient?

The reduction in friction allows the fluids to flow more efficiently through the pipes and enables the fracking pumps to pump at a higher rate without having to increase pressure. Glutaraldehyde – Glutaraldehyde helps eliminate bacteria in the water. Ethylene Glycol – Ethylene glycol helps prevent scale deposits from forming in the pipe.

Does fracking contribute to water pollution?

Conducted properly, hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”) has little possibility of contaminating water supplies. Properly constructed wells prevent drilling fluids, hydraulic fracturing fluids, deep saline formation waters, or oil and gas from entering aquifers.