What is fracking? Meaning explained
FRACKING can go ahead in England, with the government lifting a ban on the controversial process.
Fracking in the UK has been a controversial subject within local communities and among MPs due to concerns over earth tremors.
What is fracking?
Fracking is short for “hydraulic fracturing” and is the process that sees sand, water and chemicals injected underground at high pressures to crack open shale rock.
This is done to release any oil or gas trapped beneath the earth’s surface.
The wells can be drilled vertically or horizontally in order to release the gas.
The term fracking refers to how the rock is fractured apart by the high-pressure mixture.
Companies have been using this technique for decades to extract oil and gas from hard-to-exploit rock formations.
In 2019, a moratorium was put in place following concerns over earth tremors as a result of fracking after more than 120 tremors were recorded at oil and gas exploration company Cuadrilla's fracking site in Lancashire - although most were too small to be felt.
However, on September 22, 2022, the ban was lifted as the government gave the green light for fracking to once again go ahead in the UK.
The decision comes alongside the publication of a new scientific review into the practice by the British Geological Survey.
The BGS has concluded there is still a limited understanding of the impacts of such drilling - a way of mining gas and oil from shale rock.
And with the energy crisis worsening globally and world leaders scrambling to secure energy supplies Business and Energy Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg outlined how important this decision was.
He said: "In light of Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine and weaponisation of energy, strengthening our energy security is an absolute priority.''
Even with the reversal of the ban, permit arrangements still remain very strict.
How does fracking work?
Cracks in and below the Earth's surface are opened and widened using the materials mentioned above.
The process can be carried out vertically or, more commonly, by drilling horizontally into the rock layer.
This can either create new pathways to release gases or can be used to extend existing channels.
What are the biggest fracking crises?
Blackpool crisis
In 2011, energy company Cuadrilla suspended test fracking operations near Blackpool, Lancashire, after two earthquakes of 1.5 and 2.2 magnitudes struck the area.
A subsequent study found it was "highly probable" that shale gas test drilling triggered the tremors.
A government-appointed panel said there could be more tremors as a result of fracking, but they will be too small to do structural damage above ground.
Fracking has drawn criticism from the public and campaigners concerned about the environmental impact of fracking and the pollution caused by fossil fuels.
Fracking has been banned in France, Germany and several other European countries.
On November 2, 2019, the Government ended its support for fracking in England based on a new scientific analysis.
The US fracking boom
The EIA - based in the States - is the world's largest extractor but it raises concerns over the great volume of fossil fuels that it might unleash.
The drillig across US water and lands will release 140billion metric tons of planet-heating gases, as reported by .
A study showed that emissions from such projects were four times larger than all of the planet-heating gases emitted each year.
This sets Earth on course a disastrous climate change.
What are the benefits of fracking?
Fracking gives us access to difficult-to-reach oil and gas reserves that are trapped in layers of rock underground and therefore provides access to more gas and oil reserves.
It has also been a proven benefit to the US economy, increasing the country’s oil and gas reserves drastically.
It means the United States is no longer dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil or Russia for natural gas.
Drilling activities take place 24 hours a day and after the oil and gas are discovered, they have to be transported as well.
Fracking also provides employment as it could bring new opportunities to rural areas where British shale gas and oil deposits primarily lie.