What is Fracking allows natural gases to be extracted from rock, but it can also contaminate fresh water and even cause an earthquake!
Do you know where the electricity that powers your house comes from? Well, it was probably produced, if only in part, from fossil fuels. Fossil fuels come from the transformation of the remains of dead plants and animals buried in the ground for millennia. The three most common fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas.
But how are these fuels extracted? You may have already heard of certain techniques, such as oil drilling, coal mining or hydraulic Fracking (or hydrofracturing). But, what exactly is hydraulic fracturing ? And why is it attracting such interest?
The vast deposits of natural gases , such as methane , propane , and butane , which are buried deep in the ground today, formed and remained trapped over millennia in layers of rock. More particularly, formations shale are likely to contain large quantities of natural gas. Shale is a rock composed of clay and various other minerals. Therefore, shale deposits would potentially be immense sources of energy. But as shale is buried extremely deep in the ground and is impermeable , that is to say it does not allow any liquid to pass through, the natural gases it contains are difficult to access.
What is Fracking?
Fracking, a more common term for hydraulic fracturing, is a method or technique used in the unconventional oil and gas extraction process (UOG). This technique involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and high-pressure chemicals into deep-sea shale rock formations to fracture the rock and release the trapped oil and natural gas, which are then brought back to the surface.
What is hydraulic Fracking?
( Hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracturing) is a technique for extracting natural gas. It consists of digging a well generally around 1,500 meters deep in the ground, then injecting a liquid under very high pressure. This liquid, called Fracking fluid, is a mixture of water, sand and chemicals. The injection of the liquid breaks the underlying rock and creates cracks (or crevices) in it. These cracks allow the natural gases it contains to flow into the well and ultimately rise to the surface.
What are the benefits of Fracking ?
Supporters of Fracking say it creates jobs. Additionally, in Canada, hydraulic fracturing increases energy production nationally. In other words, we can produce energy on our own soil instead of importing energy resources from other countries.
Additionally, hydraulic fracturing provides access to vast reserves of natural gas. Natural gas is a cleaner fuel than coal or oil.
This all sounds very good. But, is there a price to pay?
What are the disadvantages of hydraulic fracturing?
The concerns raised by hydraulic fracturing are essentially ecological. People fear the effects it could have on climate change. In fact, this process releases methane. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG) . It is the cause of around 25% of global warming caused by human activity. In addition, it represents approximately 15% of GHG emissions in Canada.
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