Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, injects high
pressure volumes of water, sand and chemicals into existing wells
to unlock natural gas and oil. The technique essentially
fractures the rock to get to the otherwise unreachable deposits.
California’s Geologic Energy Management Division is in the
midst of finalizing regulations to ban fracking across the
state, which will officially go into effect on October 1.
The department submitted its rule-making package for the ban to
the state’s Office of Administrative Law on July 15, where it
will be given a final review. It’s the last step needed to
formalize the regulation, which would prohibit CalGEM from
issuing fracking permits for oil and gas wells. ….
Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, is a process
where water, chemicals and sand are injected into oil and gas
wells at a high pressure to increase production. It’s long
received criticism from environmental groups because of the
pollutants emitted during the process.
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, injects high
pressure volumes of water, sand and chemicals into existing wells
to unlock natural gas and oil. The technique essentially
fractures the rock to get to the otherwise unreachable deposits.
This printed issue of Western Water looks at hydraulic
fracturing, or “fracking,” in California. Much of the information
in the article was presented at a conference hosted by the
Groundwater Resources Association of California.
It may surprise some people to know that California is the fourth
largest producer of crude oil in the United States and has a long
history of oil exploration. Since the 1860s, wells in Kern County
and Southern California have been tapped for more than 500,000
barrels of oil each day.