Historical Louisiana fracking information, 1870-2015
 in Louisiana |
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This page contains historical information about fracking in Louisiana. For more current information about fracking in Louisiana, see this article.
As of 2014, detailed information about the extent to which fracking was used in Louisiana was limited. The information below describes fracking and oil and gas production in Louisiana 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
Natural gas was first discovered in Louisiana in 1870 near Shreveport at a well being drilled for artesian water. The state's first oil well that produced in commercial quantities was drilled in 1901, marking the beginning of the oil and gas industry in the state. In 1906, the state legislature passed Louisiana's first oil and gas conservation law. Offshore drilling began in 1947. Production peaked at 728,494,272 barrels in 1969.[4]
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, "Louisiana 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
- ↑ Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, "History of the Industry," accessed July 24, 2014
