What is fracking? There are advantages and disadvantages

Fracking is a technique that enables the extraction of gas or oil from the subsoil by means of hydraulic pressure. It is also called hydraulic fracturing, hydrofracturing or fracturing, although the term that has been popularised is fracking.

What is fracking?

It is a technique that involves drilling into the subsoil to create a well with a depth of between 1,600 and 2,000 meters in order to create highly permeable channels by injecting water at high pressure to overcome the resistance of the rock, usually slate. This generates a controlled fracture in the pocket where crude oil or gas is stored and which then rises to the surface. The water used contains support materials and chemicals (such as sand and ceramic).

It is especially suitable for the extraction of gas from shale, also known as shale gas, slate gas and unconventional natural gas. It is a hydrocarbon in a gaseous state that is located in sedimentary rock formations consisting of very fine grain at great depth. The rocks where it is stored are of low permeability, which prevents the gas from rising to the surface. Fracking is an alternative for it to be extracted and used: It makes it possible to fracture the rock.

Origin of fracking or hydraulic fracturing

In the late 1940s, the United States began experimenting with the use of pressurised water for oil extraction. They also began to use the same technique in the USSR. In the mid-50s, once perfected, it began to become popular in other territories in North America and Great Britain.

How does fracking affect the hydrocarbon market?

The depletion of conventional gas fields, geopolitical and geographical difficulties in transporting them and their high price have shifted the focus towards shale gas. Since the first decade of the 21st century, countries such as Canada and the US A have identified pockets of this type of hydrocarbons in their territory and extended the technique of fracking as a solution for their extraction and commercial use.

According to estimates by the International Energy Agency, the United States will have increased its oil and gas production capacity by 70% between 2019 and 2024 thanks to fracking.

What are the advantages of fracking?

The main advantage of fracking is that it enables access to unconventional hydrocarbon deposits, which until a few years ago could not be extracted. This makes it possible to access gas and oil in countries and territories that until now depended on other countries to generate hydrocarbons.

Technical improvements mean that it is now possible to detect these unconventional hydrocarbons and optimise their extraction quickly and easily, leading to lower prices.

This new industry also generates new jobs and economically reactivates the territories where the gas or oil is extracted.

What are the disadvantages of fracking?

But fracking has a number of disadvantages that need to be taken into account:

• Pollution: the use of water with chemical substances and support materials can cause pollution in aquifers, with the consequent risk to ecosystems and the people's health. Rock fracturing can also cause the uncontrolled release of gases that generate emissions (for example, methane gas and CO2).
• Use of water: the consumption of water for the commercial exploitation of oil and gas by fracking involves high consumption of water. It is estimated that the US fracking industry uses an amount equivalent to the annual water consumption in the city of Madrid per year. In the Climate Change and water stress context it is important to reflect on whether the use of water exclusively for fracking is actually worth while.
• Seismic risk: numerous geologists have pointed out that there is a connection between the practice of fracking and earthquakes, with the corresponding risk to ecosystems and communities near the exploitation.
• Risk of leaks or explosions: as we have seen, fracturing the rock can cause gas leaks which may be toxic. There is also the risk of explosion. Another possible danger to be aware of is the release of radioactive substances.
• Waste generation: fracking generates tons of contaminated sludge, which needs to be treated. A well can produce 20 tons of sludge annually. Contaminated water also needs to be treated.
• Impact on the landscape: fracking alters the landscape resulting in the associated damage to natural or valuable environments.

Is fracking practised in Spain?

Because of all the above-mentioned disadvantages, fracking is currently prohibited in Spain as a result of the publication of Law 7/2021 of 20 May, on climate change and energy transition. The text rules out the granting of new authorisations for exploration, research permits for materials with radioactive properties and for hydrocarbons or exploitation concessions for any of these anywhere in Spain, including territorial seas, the exclusive economic zone and the continental shelf. This means that fracking is not authorised in Spain and priority is given to alternative, clean, unlimited energies that enable us not to depend on finite energies with an impact on the Environment.

Countries around us are strongly debating with regard to this: The UK turned to fracking in recent decades until it came to a standstill in 2019, although it has recently been allowed again. Other countries in our environment such as France, Austria and Bulgaria have banned it.