It seems that there is so much right and wrong in oil. Hydraulic fracturing, a seemingly high-end and atmospheric technical term, has been familiar to everyone~ As a major contributor to the development of shale gas in North America, hydraulic fracturing is widely used in While 'making great contributions', it is also widely criticized. Mr. Nengdou is here to give you a peek.
Definition: Hydraulic fracturing refers to the use of high-pressure water mixed with chemicals to fracture shale layers, artificially creating many gaps, releasing oil or natural gas from the rock gaps, and flowing along the A method of producing oil and gas that flows from a wellbore to the surface.
Origin: Although the large-scale application of hydraulic fracturing is indeed in recent years, as early as 1947, hydraulic fracturing was tested in Kansas, USA. The technology was patented in 1949, and later that year it was put into commercial operation by the Halliburton Oil Well Cementing Company. According to some data, since then, approximately 90% of U.S. oil and gas wells have used hydraulic fracturing technology, and unconventional oil and gas is still considered a "rising star" in the application field of this technology.
Problems:
1. Environmental pollution: Environmentalists believe that the high-pressure water used to fracture rocks contains a large amount of chemicals and is the main source of pollution. In fact, the main components of the liquid injected into the ground using hydraulic fracturing are water and sand, with very small amounts of chemical substances. Of course, this does not mean that there is no impact on the environment, but the impact is by no means as great as imagined.
2. Water consumption: According to data released by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, according to the current drilling rate, an average of about 35,000 shale wells are drilled in the United States every year, each well requiring 2 million to 5 million gallons (1 A gallon is approximately equal to 3.78 liters - Editor's Note) of fresh water. Based on this calculation, the United States needs to consume 70 billion to 140 billion gallons of water every year for the extraction of shale oil and gas. This is a problem that cannot be ignored in a world that is increasingly lacking fresh water. However, there are always two sides to everything. About 20% of the water used in the extraction of shale oil and gas returns to the ground. Although this wastewater returned to the ground is mixed with chemical liquids, heavy metals, salts, etc., and is highly toxic to plants and aquatic organisms, it provides business opportunities for the water treatment industry. More and more oilfield service companies and water treatment companies are joining the ranks of recycling, processing and reusing fracking water.
3. Make delicious ice cream more expensive! According to an article on Oil Price Network, there is a small amount of chemical agent guar gum in the fracturing fluid. It is a natural product of the seeds of the guar plant and can be used to improve the taste of some daily foods such as ice cream. The shale oil and gas boom has increased the use of guar gum, and with it the price of the guar plant. As a result, the production costs of a series of foods that require the use of such additives, such as ice cream, have increased significantly, and the prices have naturally increased.