Historical Pennsylvania fracking information, 1859-2015
 in Pennsylvania |
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This page contains historical information about fracking in Pennsylvania. For more current information about fracking in Pennsylvania, see this article.
As of 2014, detailed information about the extent to which fracking was used in Pennsylvania was limited. The information below describes fracking and oil and gas production in Pennsylvania 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
Pennsylvania is home to the world's first commercial oil well, the Drake Well, which was drilled in 1859 in Venango County. Natural gas production in the state dates to 1881.[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, "Pennsylvania 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
- ↑ Pennsylvania Independent Oil and Gas Association, "PA Oil and Gas," accessed July 25, 2014
