Knowra Fracking Fracking Fracking is the injection of pressurized fluid into underground rock to create or enlarge fractures that release trapped oil or natural gas. It is commonly used in shale formations, often alongside horizontal drilling.
Hydraulic fracturing fluid : A mixture of water, proppant, and chemical additives injected into rock during hydraulic fracturing. Its pressure opens fractures, while its other ingredients help keep them usable.
Shale gas : Natural gas contained in fine-grained shale, commonly extracted using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Fracking made large-scale production from many low-permeability shale formations practical.
Induced seismicity : Earthquakes triggered or advanced by human activities that alter stresses or pressures underground. Fracking can cause small events, while associated wastewater disposal has triggered larger sequences.
Conventional oil and gas : Hydrocarbons produced from permeable reservoirs where fluids can flow to a well without extensive rock stimulation. Unlike many unconventional reservoirs, these deposits often produce without large-scale fracturing.
Proppant : Granular material, usually sand or ceramic, placed in fractures to hold them open after pressure falls. It keeps fracking-created pathways from closing when injection ends.
Tight oil : Crude oil held in low-permeability rock that generally requires stimulation to flow at commercial rates. Hydraulic fracturing releases oil from formations that conventional wells drain poorly.
Produced water : Water brought to the surface during oil and gas production, containing dissolved minerals and other substances. Fracturing returns some injected fluid along with water from the formation, creating a disposal challenge.
Acidizing : A well-stimulation method that injects acid to dissolve minerals and improve flow through rock or near-well pathways. It enhances permeability through chemical dissolution rather than primarily propping open fractures.
Horizontal drilling : A drilling technique that turns a wellbore from vertical to horizontal within a target rock layer. Long horizontal well sections expose more formation to fractures than vertical wells alone.
Barnett Shale : A Texas shale formation that became a major natural-gas-producing region through horizontal drilling and fracturing. Its development helped establish modern shale-gas production methods.
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