Essays on Fracking

Oil Prices Fluctuating In the Middle East

Introduction Oil being a commodity is subject to high levels of fluctuations as opposed to the stable investments like bonds and stocks. In particular, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) plays a significant role in influencing the prices of oil across the globe. As a result, OPEC controls around 40 percent of the global supply of oil by setting the production levels that caters for the world demand and it can determine the prices of gas and oil by reducing or raising the levels of production. At a particular point in time, OPEC vowed to maintain the prices above $ ...

The extraction of oil and natural gas has been a major industry in the United States for many years. Originally, this fuel was used simply to heat homes. With the advancement in technology, many different types of machinery, including electrical generators at power plants, automobiles and home appliances have been designed to operate using natural gas. In recent years, it has become more difficult to find new sources of natural gas. Hence, various companies have ventured in hydraulic fracking in the hope of producing more natural gas. However, the hydraulic fracking itself brings a host of environmental and health ...

2016 is a general election year. One person will be chosen as the next president of the United States, and several others will be elected to the U.S Senate, and the U.S. House of Representatives. It is the first time in the history of the United States that a woman has been nominated for the highest office in the land. Many issues have come to the forefront of this election year, and several will be considered in the coming months by all states. Texas is no exception. This paper will explain the system of the Texas legislature, the issues ...

The extraction of natural gas has been a common trend in the United States. With the advancement in technology, a lot of types of machinery, cars, and other equipment have been designed, and all of them require the use of oil and gas. Hence, various companies have ventured in hydraulic fracking in the hope of producing more oil and gas. However, the hydraulic fracking itself brings environmental and health dangers.

This paper seeks to answer the following research questions:

1. What is hydraulic fracking? 2. What are the environment and health dangers of hydraulic fracking? 3. What solutions can be offered to reduce or eliminate the risks of ...

One concept that our political leaders like to kick around a lot is the notion of equality. It is one of the founding concepts in the American Constitution, and it was one of the three principles in the French Revolution (liberty, equality and brotherhood). It is one of those words that draws people along with it and resonates, because none of us wants to have less than those around us. In the area of energy, as Dr. Vandana Shiva points out, there are two competing modes of equality. One has all people elevating their standard of living, in terms ...

Man, noted to be the most intellectual living being walking the planet. Top of the food chain and creator of renowned inventions. Today, not many humans live in the raw like our homo sapiens ancestors did but instead live in innovations that have been peaking for centuries. The building of exquisite shelters such as castles, paving of roads and today’s soaring skyscrapers housing hundreds of bodies in an artificially illuminated cube. As civilization becomes more and more prominent throughout the world, the growth of the population is also becoming prominent and maybe even a little over-bearing. It’s ...

The paper defines fracking, describes its merits and demerits. Besides, it discusses effects of fracking on the environment. It concludes that fracking should be stopped and offers ways of stopping fracking. Fracking is a concept that denotes a method of drilling into the ground then directing a high-pressure mixture of water at the rock as well as rock formations to produce gas and oil (Lane, 2013). The mixture consists of chemicals, sand, as well as water, which is directed at a rock at some high pressure to eject gas or oil to the earth's surface. A fracking procedure can ...

If you pay attention to too much of the mass media, you might think that renewable energy is a pipe dream proposed to solve a nonexistent problem. After all, the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party in the upcoming U.S. presidential election, Donald Trump, sat down with the editorial board of the Washington Post back in March and told them, “If you look, they had global cooling in the 1920s and now they have global warming, although now they don’t know if they have global warming” (Leber & Aldern 2016, web). Trump has even gone so far as to ...

Introduction

The issue of hydraulic fracturing, also known as “fracking” an innovation how to extract natural gas from minerals such as shale rock has become very controversial as of recently in the United States. Large sections of the United States especially in the Northeast have lots of shale rock which has caused many oil and gas companies naturally to extract the region’s resources. This over time has caused many conflicts between the oil companies, local residents as well as local, state and federal authorities. Many people question how safe of a process fracking is and what are the unknown ...

Introduction

Over the course of the last few decades, global pollution has overwhelmingly been on the rise. As years go by - the humans' way of thinking evolves. Hence, the technological aspect of life keeps on advancing rapidly at the expense of contaminating our planet. Similar to other elements associated with human life, the natural environment is also undergoing a continuous change. There is the unchallengeable need of developing knowledge of the issues that characterize this change. The modern world is experiencing an increase in the natural calamities and varying weather patterns. These changes are primarily associated with the environmental ...

Fracking related gas leak incidents at California and Wyoming

Aliso Canyon is a massive gas storage facility owned and operated by Southern California Gas (SoCal Gas) which distributes gas to 21 million customers and 14 power plants . The gas leak which was first noted on October 23, 2015 happened near SS-25, a well that was drilled in 1953 . Investigations proved that the age of the well, combined with lack of maintenance as the root cause of this disaster. The safety valve is located deep inside the well and is responsible for any unwanted emission was removed in 1979 as it had developed leaks at that time . Interestingly, it ...

Describe Fracking. (2 pts). Limited to 15 words. Fracking is the shorthand for hydraulic fracturing in which the combination of horizontal drilling and advanced hydraulic fracturing are utilized. Citation: California Fracking. "Companies Using Enhanced Oil Recovery." CA Frack Facts. N.p., 2005. Web. 3 May 2016. Identify a particular city, county, or region in California where FRACKING is occurring. (2 pts). Limited to 10 words. Richmond Citation: California Fracking. "Companies Using Enhanced Oil Recovery." CA Frack Facts. N.p., 2005. Web. 3 May 2016. Identify a particular company that is Fracking in California. (3 pts). Limited to 10 words. Chevron Citation: ...

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process of oil and natural gas extraction from underground rock formations such as shale, by injecting a mixture of high-pressure water with chemicals and sand through a well drilled through various layers of earth (US Environmental Protection Agency [EPA], ES-1). Wastewater generated from fracking is usually concentrated with various pollutants, and has to be treated before disposal. Further as the hole is drilled through layers of earth, there is possibility of new contaminants entering the water table due to disturbance. Also, if groundwater is tapped in excess, pollutants from the gas production well ...

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the extent to which the silica levels are above the safety levels outlined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in areas proximal to the natural gas development sites. Background: While studies have shown that the silica levels in the hydraulic fracturing sites are very high, there is paucity of information as to how far away from the sites the silica levels in the air are dangerously high. Methods: The study will employ a longitudinal design with the data being collected over a ten-year period. The samples will be collected in a linear direction. The samples ...

Fracking

Fracking is method of hydraulic drilling. It is a process of drilling to the Earth’s core and extracting the gas and oil from rocks by directing high pressure water at the rocks. Gallons of water and many manmade chemicals are used for this purpose. This method is commercially used for more than 65 years. This process can be carried out vertically as well as horizontally. The horizontal technique is more often used than the vertical counterpart. This allows for the creation of new channels for releasing gas and oil as well as it can be used for extending ...

(Teacher Name)

An earthquake is any seismic event that causes seismic waves. These can be caused by human activity or natural causes. For example, fracking often causes earthquakes which are human caused. Earthquakes often shake or displace the ground or surface of the earth near the epicenter and if the displaced earth is under the ocean, it will usually cause a tsunami. Most earthquakes are caused by geological faults but they can also be caused by landslides, mine blasting, and volcanic activity. Earthquakes are measured by overserving seismometers that are set up across the globe in strategic places for ...

Hydraulic fracking allows for mining of crude oil in areas that other means of extraction such as typical fracking cannot work. Hydraulic fracking allows for extraction of crude oil in ranges that have for a long while been thought to be dried or did not hold any mineral value. When rural fields are declared to have minable crude oil, the economic value of such a land automatically goes up. Areas with oil mining going on attract miners, investors, transport companies and engineers among other people, hence raising the economic value of such areas (King, 2012). There are several towns ...

Literature Review on Fracking

Introduction The extraction of natural gas has been seen the much-needed reprieve in the face of increased energy demands globally. The natural gas present unexploited energy reserves that can be used to meet the energy deficits in the countries where there are natural gas deposits. Its extraction requires the use of advanced technologies. Fracking the main technology used in the exploitation of natural gas from the rocks beneath the earth’s surface where it is trapped. The biggest proportion of the new wells for the exploitation of natural gas (90%) utilizes hydraulic fracking as the technology of choice. While ...

Article “Antarctic ice may melt more quickly than expected”

The first article published on CBC news describes the problem of melting of the glaciers in Antarctic. According to the article, it is expected that the sea level would rise by 46 to 86 centimetres by the year of 2100, which is much more that it had been expected before. The scientists identified that the main reasons of this are warmer air, less frigid water and gravity. Moreover, the forecasts also predict that by 2500 the seas might become 13 metres higher, which will be caused only by ice melting. However, as scientists believe, the rise of the sea ...

On March 28, 2016, National Geographic published an online article about the increased risk of earthquakes and its correlation with the human activities (Gilman, 2016). Most people believe that earthquakes are natural hazards caused by tectonic plate movement, but the article written by Sarah Gilman shows that earthquakes in Oklahoma region including some parts of Texas, New Mexico, Kansas, Colorado, and Arkansas are human-induced. The article talks about the oil industry’s impact on the increased risk of earthquakes in the area, and this impact is mostly caused by hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and horizontal drilling. Gilman shows that there ...

There has been a rise in people’s energy consumption after the industrial revolution. Mostly coal and natural gas are used for this purpose, but there is much controversy regarding the extraction of natural gas. Fracking is the recovery of natural gas from deep layers inside the earth. This method means that workers use sand, water and chemicals to fracture porous rock. This is the way for the enclosed natural gas to be released. Although it became popular during the past ten years, this technique has been efficient since the 1940s. People resorted to fracking because they exhausted the ...

James Lord

Bio 100-01 Levin Discussion paper 3 Hydraulic fracturing, which is also called fracking, is the method in which drilling and injection of a solution into a well at elevated pressures so that it can fracture shale rocks to free the natural gases within it. Water, chemicals, and sand are forced on the rock at very soaring pressures which dislodges the gas inside the rock to stream outside the well. The procedure is normally carried out in vertical manner but sometimes, it is performed in the horizontal manner. The horizontal drillings is meant to create new pathways in which to ...

The world’s petroleum and oil supply are being depleted at a rapid rate, which has necessitated the need to utilize alternate sources of energy. In 2001, unconventional source of energy contributed to only 1% of the energy needs of the US (Martin, 2015). By 2035, 46% of the energy required by the US is estimated to be provided by alternate sources of energy (Adgate, Goldstein & McKenzie, 2014). Apart from being an alternate source of energy, unconventional energy source such as natural gas extracted from shale beds are one of the cleanest sources of energy (Martin, 2015). One of ...

Question One

Sustainable agriculture is a farming strategy that is widely based on an understanding of the relationship between the environment and organisms. Ideally, sustainable agriculture is not at odds with human populations because it leads to the production of more healthy foods that can feed huge populations of people. Furthermore, sustainable agriculture is an approach that can be used to feed a rapidly growing human population while minimising the agriculturally-related impacts on the environment, animals, and human health (Mason, 2003). The ecosystem challenges associated with agribusiness include habitat loss and land conversions as a result of deforestation. Specifically, agribusiness leads ...

Background of Study

Every business provides a service or products in a given industry. For a business to survive and grow, it needs to expand its share of consumers in the market within which it operates. There are several tools that are utilized to examine and review a given market. This includes the Porter’s Five Force analysis which examines and critiques the key players that can influence a given industry and the relative strength of each group to dominate and control the market. This competitor analysis method defines the extent to which the players will change and influence the industry in ...

As the world struggles with climate change and the need for clean, reliable energy, it is possible that the world could tap into the huge deposits of economically recoverable coal and methane gas that lie deep underground. As many as three trillion tons of coal can be mined using the traditional technologies, and even more, coal deposits that could not be mined in the past can now be accessed by setting them on fire and then trapping the methane gas that is released as a result. The process of burning coal and capturing gases that are released is known ...

Introduction

Hydraulic fracking, also referred to as hydraulic fracturing is one among the procedures that have prominently been associated with negative impacts both on the economy and the environment. While different stakeholders perceive the effects differently, we are going to focus on the effects of the extractive procedure with regard to the environment. Speaking of the environment, water, air and human health are given prominence (Capitol.Net, Inc, 2010). While the effects of hydraulic fracturing have been the topic of main political concerns in most countries across the world today, people do not fully comprehend what the procedure entails. For ...

Pennsylvania act 13 is a law that was passed that would limit the area that a company or individual would embark in Hydraulic fracturing. It provides for the lack of issuance of a license to any establishment that would wish to employ Hydraulic fracturing in the environment that is close to the living environment of the citizens. This is because the process of hydraulic faulting creates spaces in the soil that cause the land to sip in elements that pollutes the water that is used by the people. This law is a revision of the oil and gas act of 1984. According to ...

Hydraulic fracturing is a stimulation process that maximizes extraction of underground natural resources such as oil, natural gas, water and geothermal energy. Hydraulic fracturing enhances subsurface fracture systems allowing natural gas and oil to move freely to the production wells located on the surface from the rock pores. The process is common in about nine out of ten gas wells in the U.S. The process uses gallons of sand, chemicals and water to rupture the rocks that hold gas, causing release of gases. This method is advancement in technology since it has the potential to lower over reliance of import ...

Introduction

It is no secret that the oil and gas industry is a multi-billion dollar business. In fact, among the largest firms in terms of revenue that has garnered the top spots of the Fortune 500 are energy companies. It is also no secret that these oil and gas companies are among the riskiest business there is in terms of environmental and health hazards. Since the extensive exploration and extraction of natural gas and oils, there have been several incidents and disasters that have resulted to massive destruction of the environment and natural resources. Among the most notable are the Exxon ...

In the United States, power is generated from various sources. In 2014 alone, 4,093 billion KWh units were produced. The majority of these came from fossil fuels while renewable energy sources accounted for around 17%. The high percentage of fossil fuels used for electric power generation as compared to renewable energy sources leads to a more a pronounced environmental impact. The table below shows the percentage of the total power produced by the four major energy sources in 2014.

Negative effects of power production

Coal power production Coal is a fossil fuel that is combusted in steam boilers to generate steam for driving steam turbines. ...

Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking as it is commonly referred to as, can be considered as the most innovative technology in energy production in the 21st century. Fracking is the process of breaking up the shale found beneath the surface of the earth to extract natural gas supplies (Hasset & Mathur, 11). It involves the process of drilling a series of holes into the ground, which are then pumped with a fluid (mainly water) to create pressure that forces natural gas out of the cracks for extraction. In as much as hydraulic fracturing has been adopted widely as a method of extracting oil and ...

Illinois is a Midwestern state with its headquarters in Springfield. The largest city in the state is Chicago. The population of the state according to 2014 figures is approximately 12.5 million residents, which make it the fifth largest state in terms of population. Chicago, the largest city in the state also boasts the third highest city population in the United States behind New York and Los Angeles. As mentioned, Springfield is the seat of government with the Illinois state capitol located in downtown Springfield. The state is largely balanced politically with both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party almost ...

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the technology that helps to get non-conventional fossil fuels’ sources. They existed along with traditional fuel basins. But companies weren't interested in these sources until the traditional fuel stores started to dry out. “Fracking, is a drilling technique used for extracting oil or natural gas from deep underground” (Lallanilla, 2015). There are two types of technology: hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling. The last one appeared only in 1990s, while hydraulic fracturing was used from 1940s. Both technologies have similar processes. The first stage is drilling a vertically or angled well to the depth of 1-2 ...

Water can be considered one of the most vital resources in the planet because of its benefits to every aspect of life. Aside from being used for drinking, water ensures that life is continously sustained around the planet. However, as mankind continues to grow, supplies of critical resources like water are slowly drying out due to various causes. While a majority could argue that it is due to the changing climates causing extreme heat, there are others saying that the reducing supply for water is because of pollution. For countries like the United States, issues regarding water supply and pollution ...

An Analysis of the Formulation of California Senate Bill 4

Chapter III: Methodology Overview The purpose of this research has been to focus on the decision making and agenda setting policy concerning the regulation of hydraulic fracturing to drill for petroleum products when California Senate Bill (SB) 4 was passed. Hydraulic fracturing has been used for many years in California, but this is the first time a bill has been passed to regulate the activity. The bill was passed in the assembly first and then moved to the senate where it was passed in the form of SB 4. The factors and actors that worked together to ...

An Analysis of the Formulation of California Senate Bill 4

Chapter 1 The purpose of this research is to analyze the process creating, SB 4, the legislation on hydraulic fracking as an opportunity to understand how and why the fracking issue gained enough momentum to reach the level of legislative decision. Policies that reach the decision-making level on a legislative agenda have been driven to that level by internal and external factors of the government (Kingdon, 1995). The factors and actors that worked together to put ‘fracking’ on the agenda of the California Assembly and Senate are interesting because of the wide range of opinions held by the proponents ...

In the state of union address, Obama talked about investment, intellectual property and the protection of the environment. On investments, President Obama indicated that new trade business partnerships with Europe and Asia-Pacific would help the small businesses in creating more jobs. On intellectual property, Obama acknowledged the fact that China and Europe have taken massive steps in global innovation relating to intellectual property (The White House). With the use of federal funded research, there have been increases in ideas and inventions in Smartphone. Obama also noted that there is need for Congress to increase budgets for research to ...

Community environmental issues have long been caused by larger organizations taking advantage of communities, often small and downtrodden communities; however, today, many of those communities are fighting back against the larger corporations that are causing environmental havoc within their borders. In the Koch Brothers EXPOSED documentary, the people of Crosset, Arkansas suggest that there is something causing cancer in their community. “It’s a crime,” the preacher of the community says, shaking his head; these people, he suggests, are ill and dying far before their time because the Koch brothers and their associated conglomerates are polluting the water in ...

An Analysis of the Formulation of California Senate Bill 4

Chapter IV: Findings Introduction The research had the ambitious goal of identifying the political process that took for the passing of SB 4. The subject was especially interesting because hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has taken place in California for several decades. In this chapter, data collected about the drilling style in California was presented with an effort to include the variety of data available from viewpoints of different stakeholders and their support or lack of support for the duration of the legislative process. Fracking is a national as well as a state political issue. Both external and internal factors impacted ...

Use Energy, Get Rich, and Save the Planet

In his article ‘use energy, get rich and save the planet’, John Tierney tries to prove that the use of more energy can be sustainable. He goes on to use mathematical models such as the Kuznets curve, to project the future energy use in the world. Furthermore, he goes on to discredit the models used in the 1970’s that they are skewed and time barred. These were the first models used by activists to predict the future of energy use. Tierney (2009) proves that these models did not have enough data to correctly predict the future use of ...

The gridlock between the young and old generations has caused the public policy in DC to freeze (Bouie, 2014). The Congress is made up of both the young and the old generations. The Republicans make policies that target the older generation, while the Democrats make policies that target younger generations. The old generation tends to be conservative, and prefer to maintain their culture. The young generation is liberal, and gathers a lot of information through social networking. The young generation is dynamic, and uses current information to make decisions that are for the good of the environment. The public policy ...

The decrease in world’s petroleum and oil supply has led the nations to look for alternate sources of energy. As a result of this short-supply, unconventional gas reserves are gaining importance as alternative source of crude oil, where the unconventional gas reserves are estimated to contribute to 45% of the US gas production by the year 2035. Large-scale extraction of unconventional natural gas has resulted in the development of new and untested extraction technology such as hydraulic fracturing or hydrofracking, which is expected to develop rapidly in the next few decades near human settlements and pose a health hazard (Adgate, ...

Assignment 4: Mid-Term Exam

Question 1 - Permafrost Permafrost is a thick sub-layer of ground comprising of soil, rocks, ice, or organic materials, which remains frozen for at least two sequential years. It forms the sub-surface soil layer of Polar Regions such as the arctic region. - Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Hardwood Forest Ecotone An ecotone describes an area of transition that occurs between biomes. An example of such an area occurs in northern Ontario between the Great Lakes- St. Lawrence and the boreal forests (Liu). The Boreal forest changed into the St. Lawrence wood nearly 7,400 years ago (Liu) ...

Abstract

The effects of oil drilling towards the environment or any drilling of similar nature such as drilling of natural gas has been extensively discussed. Major stakeholders such as the government, the private sector and common people that are directly influenced by these drilling activities have different views towards this topic, which makes it more controversial. Some idealist stakeholders, for example, believe that oil drilling poses serious environmental threats. For the same reason, they believe that the risk outweighs the advantages and so these drilling activities must be stopped at once. On the other hand, those stakeholders that is benefiting ...

Fracknation, a documentary movie by Phelim McAleer is an attempt to explain people that Fracking does not cause contamination of water and air. The movie tries to prove its authenticity to the anti-frackers about the importance of fracking, and how essential it is for any nation to generate energy and gas. McAleer provokes Joshua fox, the director of Gasland; a documentary that released in 2010, to prove fracking can have dangerous and ill effects on the people living the areas that have gas stations. Fracknation also contains a few clippings from the Gasland movie that are used to show how non-authentic are ...

An Analysis of the Formulation of California Senate Bill

Chapter 5 Discussion SB 4 is the first California law to address the issue of hydraulic fracturing or fracking for natural gas in California. The fracking method had been used in California for several years without any regulation (Freyman, 2014, p. 59). Therefore, the research studied the possible reasons the issue became a part of public conversation, and finally reached the agenda setting level of the California legislature. And, only that, the issue became law in California. Well simulation is the term used in SB 4 to describe three types of the procedure hydraulic fracturing, acid matrix stimulation, ...

Mining and exploration of natural gases has increased in the recent years. This can be partly attributed to modern science and technology that has helped researchers and scientists develop new ways to conduct mining in areas that were otherwise considered inaccessible. As a result, pollution of natural resources by the mining industry has increased sharply. However, government efforts to protect its citizens from these dangerous environmental hazards have lagged behind resulting in a population that is open to dangerous diseases caused by pollution. Hydraulic fracturing is a process used widely and extensively in the mining of natural gases. First, hundreds of ...

An Analysis of the Formulation of California Senate Bill 4

Chapter 3: Methodology California Lutheran University Chapter III: Methodology Overview The purpose of this research has been to focus on the decision making and agenda setting policy concerning the regulation of hydraulic fracturing to drill for petroleum products when California Senate Bill (SB) 4 was passed. Hydraulic fracturing has been used for many years in California, but this is the first time a bill has been passed to regulate the activity. The bill was passed in the assembly first and then moved to the senate where it was passed in the form of SB 4. ...

1

Climate change has been a major concern for all countries. In the last few decades, it has been found that the rate of climate change has been increasing rapidly. The reason behind this increase is the depletion of ozone layer that is caused by increased carbon dioxide emissions. The fumes of vehicle, factory smoke, burning of fossil fuels etc. are some of the sources of such emissions. Carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide are two of the green houses that are the most responsible for global warming. Many articles have been written with regard to the issue of global warming, ...

An Analysis of the Formulation of California Senate Bill 4

CHAPTER IV This research has the ambitious goal of identifying the political process that took for the passing of SB 4. The subject is especially interesting because hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has taken place in California for several decades. In this chapter, data collected about the drilling style in California will be presented with an effort to include the variety of data available from viewpoints of different stakeholders. Fracking is a national as well as a state political issue. It has been assumed that both external and internal factors have impacted the policy process. Decisions made at federal government agencies have a ...

Statement of the Problem

The problem of petroleum depletion has since posed problems to the global demand for energy, thus driving related costs to rise to unbearable proportions and economic crashes affecting all other sectors. Efforts to counter the foregoing have since resulted to the emergence of viable energy options using alternative resources to supplement what would otherwise require petroleum to operate. Natural gas obtained through hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, has become a much-sought alternative to petroleum currently supplied in known oil-rich areas such as the Middle East and Russia. In the United States (US), specifically in California (Siegel), fracking has recently ...

Abstract

This paper analyzes different studies made by researchers in order to identify economic, environmental and political aspects of fracking and provides explanations on how fracking could be both advantageous and disadvantageous to the United States of America. Most of researchers argue that fracking activities have a negative effect on our environment and public health. For example, researchers from the Colorado School of Public Health and Brown University have found that the babies born near gas wells were 30 percent more likely to have congenital heart defects and oral clefts. In economic terms fracking is beneficial for our country as the ...

Business

Introduction The biggest menace most countries face today is the environmental pollution; earth, water, plants and animals are the first impaired factors affected by pollution. Our earth is becoming warmer because of fraud practices of certain companies that never cease burning more energy every day to accumulate more profit and generate higher revenue levels. One of these companies we will discuss in this paper is Williams Energy; a famous cash cow company based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, working in the field of energy. With its additional petroleum and electricity generation assets, Williams Energy plays a critical role in polluting the environment ...

Natural gas resources will continue to play a significant role in the sustainability and objective of having an independent, self sufficient energy mix for the United States in the coming years. With its objective of being able to increase its use of clean energy in the mix, American energy sector policy makers are looking to harness the extensive stores of natural gas that have become commercially viable resulting from the use of cutting edge technology in the fields of “horizontal drilling” and “hydraulic fracturing” that have allowed operators to extract greater amounts of oil and natural gas from shale formations ( ...

Senate Bill 4.

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS Btus British thermal units CA California CASB 4 California Senate Bill 4 Chapt. Chapter CIPA California Independent Petroleum Association EIA Energy Information Agency MWh Megawatt hours SB Senate Bill Sect. Section US United States USA United States of America USGS United States Geological Survey Introduction On Friday, September 20, 2013 California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the Senate Bill 4 (CASB 4) that sets up the organization of a permitting system for hydraulic fracking using the technique of fossil fuel well drilling ...

Fossil fuel has a high demand in any country. In this century, the innovations in the 21st century enable the country to do exploration and invent other drilling technologies. The drilling technologies make it possible for easy accessibility of the reserves that were previously inaccessible. The Marcellus Shale has a lot of natural gas and this has brought development to the developments in the three states. The developments include both economic and infrastructural benefits. The revenue from the sale of the natural gas goes to the federal government (Chiras, 283). This money helps in the development of infrastructures in the states. ...

Part I. Hydraulic Fracking

The term Hydraulic Fracking (or Fracking for short) is a method of extracting natural gas from layers of rock shale . Shale rock is one of the most abundant types of sedimentary rock. It is formed from when silt and clay-sized minerals are compressed, earning the term “mud stones”. Shale is made up of many think layers and when the rock splits, it splits into think pieces along these layers . An unconventional oil deposit, shale rock can contain organic kerogen materials (up to 1/3 of the rock’s mass). This material can produce liquid and/or gaseous hydrocarbons but the shale must ...

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a technique that involves typical mixing of water with chemicals and sand, under high pressure. The mixture is injected into wellbore to create small fractures where fluids such as petroleum, gas, brine water and uranium-bearing solution might migrate to the well. The hydraulic pressure is removed from such well and small proppant grains are used in holding the fractures open when the rock achieves equilibrium. This technique is common in wells for tight gas, shale gas, coal seam gas and tight oil. Such well stimulation is carried out once in the well’s life time ...

Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a technique of generating fractures in rocks through injecting liquid into the cracks to open them further. The technique entails mixing water with sand and chemicals and injecting the mixture into a wellbore under high pressure to generate fractures. The technique is commonly applied in wells for tight gas, shale gas, coal seam gas, and tight oil as well as hard rock wells. Currently, more than 60% of gas and oil wells globally are hydraulically fractured (The Network for Public Health Law, 2013). Fracking is has various impacts including environmental-related negative outcomes, and dangers ...