Hydraulic fracturing is a technique widely utilized in the energy sector to enhance the recovery of hydrocarbons.
Based on the provided reference, the primary application of hydraulic fracturing is within the petroleum industry to stimulate oil and gas production from low permeability, 'tight' reservoirs.
- Purpose: This stimulation is performed to significantly increase the flow rate and overall recovery of oil and gas from rock formations where these resources are trapped but cannot flow easily to the wellbore due to the rock's low permeability.
- Impact: By creating pathways (fractures) within the rock, hydraulic fracturing allows the trapped oil and gas to travel more readily to the well.
- Prevalence: The reference indicates that hydraulic fracturing is applied to approximately half of the new oil and gas wells drilled each year.
- Economic Value: Applying this technique helps to increase the economic value of these wells and the reservoirs they access.
Essentially, hydraulic fracturing unlocks oil and gas resources from formations that would otherwise be uneconomical or impossible to produce from using conventional methods.
