Fracking Infrastructure
Infrastructure to support unconventional oil and gas development has increased substantially in the past decade. Major fracking infrastructure includes:
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Compressor Stations
Machine that raises the pressure of gas by drawing in low pressure gas and discharging it at significantly higher pressures. These facilities enable natural gas to flow through pipelines.
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Pipelines
In the United States, there’s an estimated 3 million miles of pipelines transporting crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas liquids, and gas from fracking wells and cryogenic facilities to processors & then eventually to consumers. Pipelines include distribution lines that take gas to residents and other consumers, as well as transmission and gathering lines which bring fossil fuels from well sites to processing facilities and distant markets.
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Wells
“Fracking” wells are drilled thousands of feet into the ground to reach a target oil or gas reservoir. The well then turns horizontally to intersect and remain within the reservoir (e.g. shale layer) for distances that can reach over three miles in length. A mixture of water, sand and chemicals are injected into the well at extremely high pressures, and explode out of the well bore to crack open the shale rock, releasing oil and gas.
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Other infrastructure
Other infrastructure includes Class II wells (which include wastewater disposal wells, enhanced oil recovery wells, and hydrocarbon storage wells), cryogenic facilities, frac sand mines, fractionation facilities, petrochemical facilities, power plants and stations, processing plants, pumping stations, and storage facilities. For more information on the function of these infrastructure, see FracTracker’s Oil & Gas 101 guides: https://www.fractracker.org/resources/oil-and-gas-101/
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Assessment of Rework Permits on Oil Production from Operational Wells Within the 3,200-Foot Public Health Protection Zone
/by Kyle Ferrar, MPHThis analysis shows that the policy proposed in SB 1137 of denying rework permits within the health protection zones is a commonsense public health intervention that would have minimal effects on production within the protection zone.
CalGEM Permit Review Q4 2022: Oil Permit Approvals Show Steep Rise Within Protective Buffer Zones
/by Kyle Ferrar, MPHDuring the fourth quarter of 2022, California regulator CalGEM issued oil and gas operators 222 new drilling permits, an increase of over 750% compared to the fourth quarter of 2021. Of those, nearly half (100; 47%) were for wells located within the 3,200’ public health setback zone.
A Contentious Landscape of Pipeline Build-outs in the Eastern US
/by Karen EdelsteinIn this article, we’ll feature four contentious pipeline build-outs in the Eastern United States, show ways in which those pipelines impact natural and human communities, and provide examples of how environmental advocates have challenged these projects, with varying degrees of success.