Hydraulic Fracturing (“Fracking”) and Rebirth of United States Chemical Industry_ Crimson Publishers

 Hydraulic Fracturing (“Fracking”) and Rebirth of United States Chemical Industry by Makarand R Gogate* in Progress in Petrochemical Science_ International Journal of Petrochemical Science

Abstract

The use of hydraulic fracturing the extract oil and gas from the earth, dates back to 1940s, but only in the last decade or so, has the word “Fracking” become a buzzword. Fracking alludes primarily to the shale gas boom in the United States, since about 2008, and also refers to the process - the high pressure injection of water, chemicals, and sand into the shale rock deposits – to release gas and oil trapped within shale rock by fracturing it, to harvest stores of gas and oil, previously unfeasible to access or recover.

As stated above, Fracking became commercial in the United States in 2008, first at the Bakken Shale deposits in North Dakota, and later at Barnett Shale Basin in Texas. The production of domestic natural gas thus saw a high spike in about 2008, and is expected to grow by up to 44% by 2035. For example, the domestic production was at 17Tn cu ft/year in 2008, and now stands at 27Tn cu ft/year (2017), an increase of 59%. As a result, the price of domestic natural gas (Henry Hub Index) was $15.46/MM BTU (2008 basis), and has steadily declined to the current $1.85/MM BTU (2020). The historical trends in the natural gas prices are illustrated in Figure 1; [1]. Not surprisingly, the oil prices, seen historically to trend directly with price of natural gas, have also steadily declined: Oil prices peaked to over $110/bbl (2008) - when the cost of gasoline was over $4/gal -- and have also steadily declined to $30/bbl, as of today. Fracking is a uniquely and hugely successful American story, that, by safely unlocking America’s abundant natural resources, has created millions of jobs, reduced energy prices (oil and natural gas), and also brought cleaner air by significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions (to lowest levels in 25 years), and transformed the United States back into a global superpower [2]

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