A simple lesson in fracking for those of you who are fractivists and simply don’t understand the process, the safety of the material used or plain reality.

The Process

Fracturing (aka fracking) is a process for creating a large number of open pathways in the reservoir rock or shale, which allows the oil and gas stored in the pore structure to easily flow towards a wellbore. In effect, it extends the wellbore from about 7 inches to 20 feet! In shale rock, where the flow paths between these pores is very small (oil and gas will only flow 5-10 inches a year, naturally) the effect is astounding.

Once fractured, oil will literally drain into these pathways. All this is possible since the development and perfection of directional drilling which permits us to drill horizontal wellbores from vertical wells and operate as many as 16 wells from a single surface drilling pad. It has changed the cost, efficiency, and look of a typical oil field and made us a world energy giant once again.

Read more:

http://naturalgasnow.org/fracking-101-explanation-fractivists/