User:Bddpaux/Drought conditions across much of US impacting fracking activity

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Thursday, August 2, 2012

Drought conditions, which have affected large sections of the United States, are now impacting oil production-related activities such as fracking. News sources recently noted that petroleum energy operations throughout parts of West Texas, North Dakota, Kansas, Colorado, and Pennsylvania have been impacted. Hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, has grown to be a widely-used technique in the petroleum industry.

	Fracking has opened up a whole new world."
—A Texas resident

File:Fracking.jpg

File graphic explaining the process of fracking.
*(Image missing from Commons: image; log)*

Fracking requires the injecting of water and other substances into the ground, at very high pressure, to split shale and other sedimentary sources. Due to the drought, water supplies are rapidly diminishing in certain parts of the country. To access the valuable stores below the surface, each well requires anywhere from 2 million up to 12 million gallons of water. Chris Faulkner, CEO of Breitling Oil and Gas, told media sources that in Kansas, most of the water used in fracking is provided by farmers. Faulkner explained that in times past, he could purchase water from farmers for US$0.35 per barrel, but in recent days, farmers there are declining offers of US$0.75. Faulkner also told reporters that roughly 11% of the wells his firm planned to frack in coming days have been delayed. He also predicted that if drought conditions remain, the number of delays will increase.

Many people have criticized fracking, citing harmful outcomes for communities and the environment, including earthquakes. One Texas man told Wikinews, "Fracking has opened up a whole new world...in oil production."

There has even been an independent film entitled Gasland which attempted to address the issue.

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