Fracking: what is it anyway? What does it really mean for the energy sector? Questions like these are becoming increasingly relevant as the costs and benefits of this new technology continue to reveal themselves."Hydraulic fracking" is a processes in which pressurized chemically infused water is used to fracture deep rock formations in order to extract previously unremovable natural gas, petroleum, and brine. This new technique has already stimulated the energy industry, bringing new hopes to a previously declining sector. In the last three years alone, the United States has seen a 60% increase in oil production; producing 3 millions barrels per day in the last two years. These depths have expedited the United States's journey towards energy independence. Additionally, the US is now the #1 producer of natural gas, and the #1 producer of oil (excluding OPEC), to the the point where we only import less than 10% of our oil from OPEC.
However, fracking has its consequences. Although this technology has only recently been implemented, we have already started to see ramifications. Environmentalists claim that chemically infused water can reach underground reservoirs, potentially polluting water that is arguably becoming more and more important (ask Californians). Not only that, but fracking near fault lines is correlated with increasing earthquakes in surrounding regions. Although it is too early to prove that fracking is the cause of increased quakes in said regions more and more cases are "breaking the surface". What does all of this mean? Well, decreased dependance on OPEC gives us more control over energy prices, hopefully decreasing the volatility of energy prices. A larger energy sector provides more jobs for US citizens. Yet, as with any new great technology (nuclear energy and its wastes for example), we must be conscience of what we do and how we affect our surroundings.
No comments:
Post a Comment