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In a single year, FracFocus has made a national impact from the Beltway to the Bakken. During this time, more than 200 energy-producing companies have registered over 15,000 well sites through FracFocus.
This success is the result of nationally recognized organizations working with the oil and natural gas industry to provide public transparency. Learn more and see highlights from the first year of FracFocus.
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This technique uses a specially blended liquid which is pumped into a well under extreme pressure causing cracks in rock formations underground. These cracks in the rock then allow oil and natural gas to flow, increasing resource production.
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Casing is the multiple layers of steel and cement inside the drilled hole used to protect water aquifers. The specific length, thickness, strength and composition of casing is regulated at the state level.
Illustration Courtesy of the Texas Oil & Gas Association.
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Use the interactive map to find regulations per state as well as contact information for groundwater protection and oil and natural gas production.
Groundwater Protection: Priority Number One
Oil and natural gas producers have stringent requirements for how wells must be completed. The genesis of these requirements is water safety.
Casing is the first line of defense used to protect freshwater aquifers.
More About Groundwater Protection »
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A term in the website is unfamiliar to me. Where can I go to get more information?
One of the best glossaries of oil and gas terms is available on the web through Schlumberger Inc. You can use the alphabetical listing to select the first letter of the term you are looking for and scroll through the list of terms to find it. This site contains over 4600 oil and gas related terms.
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What chemicals are being disclosed on this website?
All chemicals that would appear on a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) that are used to hydraulically fracture a well except for those that can be kept proprietary based on the “Trade Secret” provisions related to MSDS found on the Trade Secret link at 1910.1200(i)(1). Read more...
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What is Hydraulic Fracturing?
Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracing, is the process of creating small cracks, or fractures, in underground geological formations to allow natural gas to flow into the wellbore and on to the surface where the gas is collected and prepared for sale to a wide variety of consumers.
During the fracing process, a mixture of water, sand and other chemical additives designed to protect the integrity of the geological formation and enhance production is pumped under high pressure into the shale formation to create small fractures.
The newly created fractures are “propped” open by the sand, which allows the natural gas to flow into the wellbore where it is collected at the surface and subsequently delivered to a wide range group of consumers. Read more...
