Hydraulic Fracturing – Wyoming and National Information Resources
Hydraulic fracturing is a technology used in the United States to extract oil and natural gas from deep underground shale formations. This process, combined with horizontal drilling, has led to finding new oil and natural gas reserves, and has greatly improved the ability to access natural resources that are used to generate electricity, heat homes, and power vehicles.
Hydraulic fracturing began in the 1960s. Since then more than 1 million wells in the United States have been hydraulically fractured, which has led to the production of more than 7 billion barrels of oil and 600 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, according to the American Petroleum Institute. The Environmental Protection Agency in 2011 estimated that 35,000 wells (up to 90 percent) are fractured in the United States each year.
EPA Hydraulic Fracturing – Background Information
Journal of Petroleum Technology (April 2012) – What Every Representative, Environmentalist, Regulator, Reporter, University Researcher, Neighbor, and Engineer Should Know About Hydraulic Fracturing Risk by George E. King, Apache Corporation [PDF]
| Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission – Wyoming Hydraulic Fracturing Statistics, 2005-2010. Statistics show that while the number of wells that have been fractured have decreased, the number of individual stimulations per well have increased. |
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Groundwater Protection through Proper Well Construction – American Petroleum Institute
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What is Hydraulic Fracturing – Graphic of Process (ProPublica)
Hydraulic Fracturing – American Petroleum Institute Hydraulic Fracturing, Water Management Associated with Hydraulic Fracturing – American Petroleum Institute |
Modern Shale Gas Development in the United States: A Primer – Ground Water Protection Council [PDF]
Niobrara Shale Development Water Quality Questions and Answers – Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality [PDF]
Voluntary Fracturing Discloser Website (National Chemical Disclosure Registry) http://www.fracfocus.org
Intermountain Oil and Gas BMP Project The Natural Resources Law Center and its partners welcome you to this free-access website of Best Management Practices (BMPs) for oil and gas development in the Intermountain West. BMPs are mitigation measures applied to areas being developed for oil and gas to promote energy development in an environmentally sensitive manner. http://www.oilandgasbmps.org/
Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission http://wogcc.state.wy.us/
Major Tight Gas Plays, Lower 48 States – Energy Information Administration [PDF]
Lower 48 States Shale Plays – Energy Information Administration [PDF]
Hydraulic Fracturing: A Wyoming Energy Forum – University of Wyoming, School of Energy Resources, Ruckelshaus Institute of Environment and Natural Resources – Public Forum held Sept. 26-27, 2011 in Laramie [PDF]
Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Operational Rules, Drilling Rules
