Is hydraulic fracturing widely used?
Yes, and its use is likely to increase. A government-industry study found that up to 80 percent of natural gas wells drilled in the next decade will require hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing allows access to formations, like shale oil and shale gas, that had not been assessable before without the technology. It also allows more oil and natural gas to be brought to the surface from wells that had been produced without this technology. Why is hydraulic fracturing important? It enables production of more oil and natural gas, reducing dependence on foreign sources of energy and creating more jobs for Americans. It’s an indispensable technology for producing much of our clean-burning natural gas, which heats more than 56 million American homes, generates one-fifth of our nation’s electricity, powers buses and fleet vehicles and creates the basic materials for such things as fertilizers and plastics of every variety. When burned for energy, natural gas emits fewer greenhouse gases t
