Historical Alabama fracking information, 1865-2014
 in Alabama |
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This page contains historical information about fracking in Alabama. For more current information about fracking in Alabama, see this article.
As of 2014, detailed information about the extent to which fracking was used in Alabama was unavailable. The information below describes fracking and oil and gas production in Alabama generally.
Fracking background
- See also: Fracking
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a method of oil and natural gas extraction. The process involves injecting fluid into subterranean rock formation at a high pressure, creating a fracture network that allows the crude oil and natural gas inside dense rocks to flow into a wellbore and be extracted at the surface. The fluid used in this process is made up of sand and water, which comprise 95 percent of the fluid, and other chemical additives, which comprise less than 5 percent of the fluid.[1]
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), there were approximately 23,000 hydraulically fractured wells in the United States in 2000. By 2015, there were an estimated 300,000 hydraulically fractured wells. To learn more about fracking, see this article.[2][3]
History
According to the Geological Survey of Alabama, the first oil wells in Alabama were drilled in Lawrence County in 1865. Commercial natural gas production began near Huntsville in the early 1900s. Significant natural gas reserves were discovered offshore in the late 1970s. Drilling for coalbed methane first occurred in Alabama's Black Warrior River watershed in the 1970s. In 1983, the Alabama Oil and Gas Board established the first comprehensive set of regulations for coalbed methane operations.[4]
Oil and natural gas production
The graphs below detail oil and natural gas production in Alabama from 2000 to 2012.[5]
Fracking in the 50 states
Click on a state below to read more about energy in that state.
See also
External links
- U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Alabama Profile"
- Frac Focus, "National Hydraulic Fracturing Chemical Registry"
Footnotes
- ↑ Frack Wire, “What is Fracking,” accessed January 28, 2014
- ↑ University of Oklahoma, "Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Resources," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Energy Information Administration, "Hydraulic fracturing accounts for about half of current U.S. crude oil production," March 15, 2016
- ↑ Geological Survey of Alabama, State Oil and Gas Board, "Oil and Gas Industry," accessed July 22, 2014
- ↑ State Oil and Gas Board, "State of Alabama Calendar Year Oil & Gas Production," accessed July 23, 2014
