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Hydraulic fracturing is a technology used in the United States to help produce more than 7 billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. The technology has been used since the 1940s in more than 1 million wells in the United States. Its continued use is critically important to producing at home more of the oil and natural gas the nation will be consuming in the decades ahead. Even though America has abundant natural gas resources, most cannot be produced without this technology. Studies estimate that up to 80 percent of natural gas wells drilled in the next decade will require hydraulic fracturing.
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Hydraulic fracturing makes it possible to produce oil and natural gas in places where conventional technologies are ineffective. It uses water pressure, under tight controls, to create fractures in rock that allow the oil and natural gas it contains to escape and flow out of a well. Hydraulic fracturing is well-regulated and safe, and it has a proven track record. The oil and natural gas produced thanks to this technology helps fuel our nation’s economy by providing jobs, and the energy needed to heat our homes, fill-up our cars, generate electricity and create the basic materials for such things as fertilizer and plastics of every variety. In 2004, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concluded, “the injection of hydraulic fracturing fluids into coal-bed methane wells pose little or no threat to (underground drinking water).” The agency, in a review of incidents of drinking water well contamination, found “no confirmed cases linked to fracturing fluid injection of CBM (coalbed methane) wells or subsequent underground movement of fracturing fluid.” See .
On average, 99.5% of the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing are a combination of freshwater and compounds, which are injected into deep shale gas formations and then confined by thousands of feet of rock. For more detailed information, see Energy in Depth's "."
Hydraulic Fracturing Primer
Clean burning natural gas is critical to American manufacturing jobs, to farmers for fertilizer, to households for heating and cooking, to businesses for electricity and fuel for transportation needs, and to society to help address climate change concerns because of its low carbon-content.
But getting to the natural gas isn’t always easy. That’s where hydraulic fracturing plays an important role in America’s energy supply.
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Size: 2.7 MB | July 21, 2010 | License: Free
Video Tour of Drilling and Completion Operations
Industry professionals will explain the “before, during and after” phases of drilling and well completion operations (including hydraulic fracturing). They will also describe the steps companies take to make sure that these operations take place safely and in a manner that protects the environment. You will see how natural gas resources that are vital to our country’s energy security and economy can be produced in a way that respects local and community concerns and minimizes long term impacts (See RP 51R Standard reference below).
Industry Practices Relating to Hydraulic Fracturing
API has been developing and refining engineering standards and practices for the industry for nearly 85 years. Many of these standards have been adopted as references for industry performance by federal and state agencies. These standards mark the evolution of what has become one of the world’s leading high-technology industries, enabling us to keep up with the ever-increasing demand for reliable oil and natural gas supplies.
Well construction practices that are standard in the industry and that are enforced by virtually all states effectively protect underground sources of drinking water from impacts related to oil and gas exploration and production activities, including hydraulic fracturing. The great majority of hydraulic fracturing activities take place at depths far below existing groundwater sources that could reasonably be considered underground sources of drinking water. And contemporary well design practices – steel pipe cemented to the rock through which a well is drilled – ensure multiple levels of protection between any sources of drinking water and the production zone of an oil and gas well.
We are continuing to improve our operations through the development of new industry guidance documents on well construction, surface environmental considerations, and water use and management. We will be sharing these documents with state regulators to enhance transparency in the regulatory process.
RP 51R, Environmental Protection for Onshore Oil and Gas Production Operations and Leases, First Edition/July 2009
This standard provides environmentally sound practices, including reclamation guidelines, for domestic onshore oil and gas production operations. It is intended to be applicable to contractors as well as operators. Facilities within the scope of this document include all production facilities, including produced water handling facilities. Offshore and arctic areas are beyond the scope of this document. Operational coverage begins with the design and construction of access roads and well locations, and includes reclamation, abandonment, and restoration operations. Gas compression for transmission purposes or production operations, such as gas lift, pressure maintenance, or enhanced oil recovery (EOR) is included. Annex A provides guidance for a company to consider as a "good neighbor."
This document can be downloaded for free by following this link: http://www.api.org/standards/epstandards/index.cfm
API HF1, Hydraulic Fracturing Operations-Well Construction and Integrity Guidelines, First Edition/October 2009The purpose of this document is to provide guidance and highlight industry recommended practices for well construction and integrity for those wells that will be hydraulically fractured. The guidance provided here will help to ensure that shallow groundwater aquifers and the environment will be protected, while also enabling economically viable development of oil and natural gas resources.
This document can be downloaded for free by following this link: http://www.api.org/standards/epstandards/index.cfm
API HF2, Water Management Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing, First Edition/June 2010
The purpose of this guidance document is to identify and describe many of the current industry best practices used to minimize environmental and societal impacts associated with the acquisition, use, management, treatment, and disposal of water and other fluids associated with the process of hydraulic fracturing. While this document focuses primarily on issues associated with hydraulic fracturing pursued in deep shale gas development, it also describes the important distinctions related to hydraulic fracturing in other applications.
Moreover, this guidance document focuses on areas associated with the water used for purposes of hydraulic fracturing, and does not address other water management issues and considerations associated with oil and gas exploration, drilling, and production. These topics will be addressed in future API documents.
This document can be downloaded for free by following this link: http://www.api.org/Standards/epstandards/
The Economic Impacts of the Marcellus Shale: Implications for New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia
This study estimates the economic impacts of current and future Marcellus development activity. Natural gas development stimulates the economy through business-to-business spending and via payments to land owners. Natural gas development involves exploration, drilling, building gas processing plants, and pipeline construction. Each of these activities requires goods and services from many sectors of the economy, including construction, truck transportation, iron and steel, and engineering construction services. Natural gas companies also pay lease and royalty payments to land owners, who in turn pay taxes and spend this income on goods and services.
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Size: 5.1 MB | July 21, 2010 | License: Free
Duplicative hydraulic fracturing rules could imperil U.S. economy
The U.S. economy could suffer a severe blow if federal regulators demand duplicative oversight of hydraulic fracturing, a commonly used well-stimulation and completion technology already regulated by the states, part two of a three-part study by IHS Global Insight has found.
See the IHS-Global Insight study documents below:
Size: 177 KB | Date: July 1, 2009 | License: Free
The national impacts study (on production and on the economy)
Size: 521 KB | Date: July 1, 2009 | License: Free
Size: 1.17 MB | Date:July 1, 2009 | License: Free
Hydraulic Fracturing at a Glance
Technical innovation is opening the door to abundant new natural gas resources. Recent innovations combining hydraulic fracturing with horizontal drilling in shale formations has unlocked vast new supplies of natural gas, allowing the nation to get to the energy it needs today, and transforming our energy future. Having abundant, clean-burning, domestic, reliable supplies of natural gas means more jobs and higher incomes and a better energy future for all Americans.
Size: 1.1 MB | Date: February 10, 2009 | License: Free
Facts About Shale Gas
Shale gas is one of the most rapidly growing forms of natural gas. It, along with other non-conventional forms of natural gas, such as tight gas and coalbed methane, will make a major contribution to future North American gas production. Unconventional gas production is forecast to increase from 42 percent of total US gas production in 2007 to 64 percent in 2020. API has assembled this fact sheet to provide background information on shale gas, its potential and its importance.
Hydraulic Fracturing Q & A's
Explore the questions and answers regarding hydraulic fracturing and its vital importance to all Americans.
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