Your feedback ensures we stay focused on the facts that matter to you most—take our survey.
Historical Tennessee fracking information, 1866-2015
 in Tennessee |
This article does not contain the most recently published data on this subject. If you would like to help our coverage grow, consider donating to Ballotpedia.
 |
|---|
|
This page contains historical information about fracking in Tennessee. For more current information about fracking in Tennessee, see this article.
As of 2014, detailed information about the extent to which fracking was used in Tennessee was limited. The information below describes fracking and oil and gas production in Tennessee 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
Oil and gas were discovered in Tennessee in the early 19th century, although commercial production of oil did not begin until 1866 (at the Spring Creek field in Overton County). The state's first million-barrel oil field was discovered in Scott County in 1969. State regulation of the oil and gas industry began in 1968.[4]
Production
The graphs below detail oil and natural gas production in Tennessee from 2000 to 2013.[5]
Permitting
The Tennessee Board of Water Quality, Oil, and Gas issued oil and gas permits in the state as of 2014. The table below details permitting data from 2003 to 2013.[5]
| Oil and gas permits issued in Tennessee | |
|---|---|
| Year | Permits issued |
| 2003 | 285 |
| 2004 | 223 |
| 2005 | 354 |
| 2006 | 386 |
| 2007 | 417 |
| 2008 | 258 |
| 2009 | 113 |
| 2010 | 105 |
| 2011 | 161 |
| 2012 | 159 |
| 2013 | 147 |
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, "Tennessee Profile"a
- 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
- ↑ Journal of the Tennessee Academy of Science, "The History and Development of the Oil and Gas Industry in Tennessee," July 3, 1987
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kayla Harris, "Email communication with Elaine Foust, PG, from the Tennessee Oil and Gas Program," July 30, 2014
