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The Fracking Industry and Its Potential Impact on the Illinois Economy

The Fracking Industry and Its Potential Impact on the Illinois Economy

Full Title:  The Fracking Industry and Its Potential Impact on the Illinois Economy
Author(s):  Dave Bieneman
Publisher(s):  Illinois Department of Employment Security
Publication Date: July 1, 2013
Full Text: Download Resource
Description (excerpt):

Technological advances have changed the future of the oil and gas industry in the United States. The utilization of high-volume, high-pressure hydraulic fracturing (what is commonly known today as fracking) over the last ten years on shale rock formations has dramatically increased the amount of oil and gas that are considered to be recoverable in the U.S. If the trend continues, it is expected that the U.S. will be able to eliminate its dependence on non-North American (all but U.S., Canada, and Mexico) oil sources within five to ten years. The fracking process originated in the 1940s while horizontal drilling was first used in the 1930s. The current method of fracking combines the two techniques and injects a much larger amount of fluid into the well than did the previous method. The procedure is conducted do not follow proper procedures.2 Large resources of oil have been found in shale rock in Texas and North Dakota, while shale has yielded primarily natural gas in Pennsylvania. Expectations are that southeastern Illinois also has extensive natural gas resources.

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