Fracking has brought revolutionary change to the American oil and natural gas markets. More properly known as hydraulic fracturing, fracking has been used in 95 percent of all new wells drilled within the U.S. over the past few years. Fracking is also being used in older wells which were considered tapped out just a few years ago. The result is rapidly rising production of both oil and natural gas in the U.S.That rise in production due to fracking is leading to less dependence on foreign crude oil supplies. In fact, projections say that by 2020, the U.S. will be the leader in oil production, through at least 2030. The U.S. has surpassed Russia and Qatar to become the leading producer of natural gas in the world at 689 billion cubic meters in 2013 thanks to fracking. The total produced in 2014 will be higher. Let’s review the state of fracking in the US and what the future holds for fracking in this country.
What is the state of fracking in the U.S.?
At the beginning of 2014, the number of wells within the United States opened with hydraulic fracturing or fracking was approximately 1.1 million. That number continues to grow every month.
Fracking offers a way to extract valuable oil, natural gas and other resources from geologic formations like shale deposits. Shale traps these resources between the fractured layers in the rock formation. Traditional vertical wells cannot extract those resources at a cost-effective rate. However, a horizontal wellbore, coupled with hydraulic fracturing, is making shale drilling very cost-effective and has created the recent oil and gas booms.
Shale deposits in the U.S. being pumped or explored for oil are located in states from New York State to Texas to North Dakota and on to California. Texas’ Barnett and Eagle Ford shale formations are the ones leading the pack with the North Dakota/Montana Bakken formation closely following. Thousands of wells dot these large formations. The state of Ohio has seen hundreds of wells drilled over the past couple of years. Many more wells are appearing throughout the Midwest, South, and Mountain regions.
All this pumping is rapidly reducing the amount of oil the U.S. imports every year. Imports reached an all-time high in August of 2006, when the U.S. imported over 327 million gallons of oil in a single month. In September 2014, that number was down to 225 million barrels. That is more than a 30 percent reduction and that number continues to decrease as U.S. production continues to grow each year.
What does the future hold for fracking in the U.S.?
According to current forecasts, oil production in the U.S. will continue to grow at a healthy rate until the early 2020s. Then, production will start to level off. Hydraulic fracturing will continue to play a big part in bringing more energy resources to the forefront. Understanding the importance of fracking is critical for fuel retailers and whole fuel suppliers alike.
For more information on fracking, contact Kendrick Oil today. We are a licensed fuel wholesaler in Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Louisiana. Give us a call at (806) 250-3991 or connect with us via email through our Contact Us page. You can also view our fuel products and services
