How does fracking work? - Mia Nacamulli 

The animations in this video are fracking amazing!!!

This guy has the nicest voice.

I worked for a fracking company a few years ago....mostly Northern Alberta.....It amazed me how they could control what was going on hundreds of feet underground.... fracturing different depths and areas.... different types of sand and chemical mixtures used to achieve different results....pretty amazing to see some big jobs with fifteen to twenty pump trucks with 2500 horsepower engine and pumps each running full throttle.....worked at it a couple of years .....will never forget the experience.....

This is a good primer, well researched, and the broad concepts are correct, but there are some small omissions and inaccuracies 1) kickoff point is entirely dependent on the depth of the oil/gas. Normally ranges from a few thousand feet to as much as 17000 feet or greater 2) the horizontal can be 10,000+ feet long 3) the perforations are closer to 10 inches long, not one inch as stated. 4) the well is ready to frac pretty much right after drilling. There is some additional prep work, but it’s a matter of a few days, not months. 5) in addition to slick water there are thicker gels sometimes used, derived from the guar bean, which is used as an organic thickener for ice cream. The choice of fluid is highly dependent on the geometry of the fracture the engineer is attempting to create and the need to suspend sand. The disinfectants used vary but by far the most common is quatinary gluteraldehydes often used in toilet bowl cleaner. There are other options. This is crucially used because sulfate reducing bacteria found naturally in pond water can be pumped down the well and over time consume sulfur in the rock to make hydrogen sulfide, which is very poisonous, corrosive, and explosive. 6) it’s not just the frac water that comes back but also water that is naturally in the formation. Even non fractured wells produce some water. 7) the casing and cement comments are correct. Damage to the casing and cement is the single biggest concern when it comes to pollution concerns; however if the wells are engineered properly, damage during fracturing is not a concern at all. I would go so far as to say that failure during fracturing is a result of significant negligence in the design of the pipe, or in a serious defect of the pipe. Before fracturing, the pipe is pressure tested to validate that it is not compromised. The much bigger concern is what happens in the many years later as corrosive fluids produced can corrode or erode the pipe. 8) water usage is marginally higher now typically than the value they stated

I’m ok with the ads. I’m ok with the buffer. But when the ads buffer, I suffer.

Really love this unbiased channel, gives me a break from all of the media.

"Oh the frackin" "No, no not that" 😭

oh, the fracking?

I love that background music! Its so fitting yet so amazing.

TED-ED Videos are the best teachers!

Helped in my exam prep. Absolute blessing of a video

The sound effects are lovely on this.

Lovely minimal clear animation. With just enough style to make it a visual treat.

When you are geologist but you still watched it cuz you like the animations :D

the animation and explanation is so amazing. I wish if Teded could have videos to explain out syllabus.

I'm very pleased to see that Ted Ed acknowledges and states, though briefly, that fracking doesn't use nearly as much water as other human activities, ESPECIALLY animal agriculture.

Top marks. Really well explained + Loved the music on this

I got all Fracked up the other night, the gas release was amazing.

This is well done with one notable exception. The lack of scale and context relative to depth of wellbore. The depictions online don’t show relative depth leading the public to believe that fracking happens right under their feet. The visual impact of such depictions elevates the risk beyond actual

Who came here to find out what fracking is since vpdebate2020?

I don't know you ppl make every single video so damn amazing.

wow, this video cracks me up.

Thank you for sharing this video. I had no idea what fracking was. Very informative.

Loved this video, not too long, very informative and actually helped me understand better this issue

I'm waiting for the comment that says, "I read this as "How does fucking work?"".

You guys did such an amazing job with this video! Fantastic!

Thank you! I needed this for a school assignment

Very informative! I like this guy's narrations too!

2:09 slickwater should be called slickquid

Very good informational video on fracking. It is informative and unbiased and states reasons for controversy surrounding it.

Thank you for information, very clear presentation.

first ted talk I have seen that seems to not have any bias, I like it

Thank you for such a helpful overview. I feel like I finally understand more of the controversy!

This appeared in my algorith after watching BoJack Horseman. Fracking isn't a topic of discussion in my country (and I'm glad it's not even considered) but this really informed me well about it.

Best Video I could yet find on this topic, love it!

Very well made. Brilliant animation, effects

Fantastic, beautifully explained. God bless you immensely. What a simple but an ample explanation it is !

I feel smart for knowing this. Thanks, gcse chemistry.

Getting ready to start my new job driving a big rig delivering frac sand in Wyoming. I can't wait to get out of the South Texas summer heat.

So cool. Great video. We have to do more fracking carefully!

I love the way that Nitrogen fracking is completely ignored. I have been on frak jobs where there was less than 10,000 gallons of water used with nitrogen as a propellant which saved 10's of thousands of gallons of water by forcing the water down hole under more pressure than could be achieved by regular hydraulic fracturing. Plus the residue was cleaner than hydraulic only fracking. Another benefit to nitrogen is the well bore could be cleaned easier with nitrogen than fluids. Hydrogen is also I believe 78% of the atmosphere we breathe so it is relatively harmless to humans. Nitrogen will also eventually return to the atmosphere naturally to be used again and again.

Very informative and well put together! Thank you!

excellent breakdown for beginners and laymen ... thank you

Thanks for the video. Nice and clear and informative

1:20 The way the animation was done makes it look like if the homeworld gems invaded the earth and suceeded, also great animation Ted-Ed this is of the best i''ve seen.

When I was at a fracking sight for the first time, I was and still amazed that salt water, or the ocean still exist under ground even though it's hundreds of miles away..

Thanks for your detailed & understandable info-clip!

I know fracking, from the simpsons "Our water is on FIREE!!!"

4:52 Wow South America lost a lot of weight

프래킹이 어떻게 되는지와 지구에 미치는 나쁜영향에 대하여 배우는 시간이 되었습니다. 무었이 나쁘다고만 생각하는 것이 아닌 깊이 왜 그런가에 대하여 배우는것이 훨신 더 흥미로운것 같습니다. 좋은 영상 감사합니다.

Thank you for an informative and unbiased explanation of the technology.

I'm thinking about going in to home school teacher training and using the word fracking as part of my Lesson plan although I didn't know what the word fracking means but after watching the video I really learnt a lot about fracking myself.

I was following along until I noticed a single string of casing in the well. That may have been commonplace a long time ago, but not in the last 22 years I've been in the patch. Today, you'd actually have three layers of pipe and cement that are protecting drinking groundwater tables. They are conductor, intermediate, and then finally your production string. In west Texas average kickoff is roughly 10,000' vertical depth, the average fracture typically extend less than 500' from the well bore........or 9500' vertical depth. Don't think thats going to contaminate your water supply typically found around 200' vertical depth in this particular area. You mentioned the volume of water used could affect a city's water availability. This could be true if the fracking companies used city water........this is not typically the case. In the area where I work, companies drill water wells near the frac locations and fill "ponds" or storage vessels for frac operations. This is done in such a manner where residents wouldn't even see a change in water pressure or volume. Its not to say that drilling and fracking is not as dangerous as any other job out there, like chemical plants, power plants, etc. And there can definitely be accidents. But there are regulations that have to be followed that are in place to protect the environment as well as people.

love your vids they give alot of knowledge

It really helps me in my power point presentation

Wow! what a good channel I've found. It's useful to improve my English and learn about interesting issues :)

The ending was so deep

As a proponent of fracking. I was surprised to find this video so evenhanded. The water issue is overblown, however, probably for being outdated. The fracking industry can change so quickly, information six months old can be irrelevant.

Not any amount of googling or rephrasing my question got me to the answer I was looking for. Thank you for such a simple explanation and not leaving anything out

Very informative ,thank you.

This is a really good explanation and easy to understand to anyone!

What is fracking? "Well, when a Mommy well and a daddy well love eachother very much, they-"

Good explanation, fracking right now here in the North of Alberta Canada for 11 years.

Beautifully explained

Thers a very good Freakonomics Radio Podcast on the man who invented Fracking, its part of a five part series on Oil and how it gets from the ground to the pump

I'm early and I love y,our educational vids keep it up plz

Great video. Thanks for the info

The earthquakes produced by fracking are only 3rd magnitude, therefore they will barely be felt. The UK has already had 5th magnitude earthquakes, and in medieval times a single 6th magnitude earthquake - those are the ones that might cause damage. The little 3rd magnitude earthquakes do not cause damage.

MISLEADING / MANIPULATIVE EXPLANATION ! I noticed that this is the newest and most viewed video explaining fracking(I would also trust TedEd) BUT -This video was made in order to induce a bad opinion about hydraulic fracturing to the general public. It’s a neat combination between true facts and total B.S. I will try to explain. Keep in mind that nowadays, this process is usually happening at a vertical depth of 1-6 km. Anything that happens at surface can be easily controlled. Breakdown-starting from ~1:47: Acids make up a very small part of what's involved in this process. One could argue that the use of acids was reduced by the introduction of modern fracking. Slickwater can be classified in 2 main categories (99% of the cases). The first is guar and its derivatives. By the standards of this video, i could also refer to guar as a legume. If you do a google search on "guar", you will learn that it's sourced from nature and mainly used in the food industry - Right here, on the surface of the earth, exactly the place where pollution is a problem). The 2nd one is Acrylamide derivatives(invented and also predominantly used on the surface of the earth). EX: In United Kingdom, approximately 12,000 tons of polyacrylamide is used in the paper production industry annually. Fracking in the UK probably uses no more than 50t per year(most of which stays in the ground). Interesting read here: ukessays.com/essays/biology/acrylamide-with-chemical-formula.php . Disinfectant is also a very small part of the process (0.0001%). This is usually chloride and its derivatives. I'm fairly sure that worldwide, more of this is used by the water park industry alone than by hydraulic fracturing. Going further, from ~2:55 - the produced fluids can be handled safely- it’s just a matter of enforcing the rules on how to do this. Here is where lack of care, corruption and/or incompetence make their mark. Radioactive material is also very negligible compared to what’s mined and used on the surface in nuclear energy and other applications. Salt - Need I remind you about the salt from the oceans? Heavy metals - the amount fades away in comparison with what’s used by the battery industry ~3:35 All O&G wellbores in the world feature 3 or more barriers in this zone. If rules are enforced properly, the water table safe from harm. Everything is done in order to extract more hydrocarbons. Fracking into water is seen as a failure. The seismicity created by a moving train or truck is significantly bigger and more frequent than the one generated by fracking. The fact is that hydraulic fracturing has been around since the 40s. It has evolved as a secondary result of the advances made in the chemical industry. We use much more than what’s criticized in this video on the surface of the earth in unrelated applications. Much more important is the fact that hydraulic fracturing has delayed the moment when the world will experience a shortage of hydrocarbons. Some people were expecting extreme shortages to happen starting around 2020. This was a hot topic in the 1990s but forgotten right now. As we all know, energy shortages can easily lead to WAR. EX: The Iraq war(widely regarded as influenced by oil) began in 2003. Fracking boomed in 2007. The war officially ended in 2011. MIC DROP….

They really only talk about gas, but fracking is also used for oil. Fracking also doesn't only have to be used in shale, it can be used in other formations like sandstone. While they mention renewables, they don't fail to mention the far dirtier coal that cleaner natural gas could be displacing. This video seems to take quite an anti-frack bent.

Thank you for the great video!

Thank you for educating folks on this.

The reason we fracture wells is that the shale that contains the natural gas has very small pores in it, in contrast with a more open sandstone. In a conventional formation, the natural gas can flow for several hundred feet to get to the well. In a tight formation, it flows much more slowly. Adding the fractures allows much more gas to flow to the well for much longer, making the well viable. Hydraulic fracturing has been used for about 60 years in other types of wells, but only recently has been applied to natural gas wells. This technique has doubled our recoverable natural gas supply and reduced our greenhouse gas production to below the targets set at the Paris Agreement (I bet you don't hear that from many climate activists).

Just love these vids!

Oklahoma where we have many disposal sites. We have been having many many more earthquakes a year starting in like 201 We had 3 earthquakes happen all within a small 4 square mile patch of land (36.351482, -97.356713) this year alone. If you look on the satellite view you will see a large disposal site in this small patch of land.

Thank you for this informative video.

The most efficient energy needs to be used while we learn to make newer, cleaner energies like Nuclear and Solar cleaner and more efficient. Just need to do Fracking away from cities... Research Solar... and get people to stop being afraid of Nuclear. Nuclear power has less carbon emissions and waste than Solar.

This is a fracking good vid

“... but a greater question hangs in the air” LMAO BRO GOOD ONE

Beautiful animation!

Nice video, very well explained. Many oil companies (in Canada anyway) are shifting away from fresh water usage and are fracing with produced water instead. Much cheaper and doesn’t use up any fresh water resources. Also, most companies dispose of the flow back water into disposal wells, never to be seen again. This information has been so twisted and manipulated by the media, nice to see someone finally explaining it properly.

People often talk about the horrible chemicals in the fracking fluid, but that actually misses the point. Even if you use safe fluid (which has been developed and the formula is public so anyone can use it, but nobody does), the most dangerous chemicals like benzine are in the shale and will be released both into the well and possibly into local water supplies no matter how safely you try to do it.

Very helpful! Many thanks!

Wow I actually understood and learned something here

I was watching a bunch of RuPaul’s Drag Race videos and this shows up in my recommended and I just-

Great title.

I can remember hearing people had to get water delivered after drilling, then it cleared up, Then they fracked and more water had to be delivered. Then a treatment system put in and still water had to be delivered due to the treatment system not working to remove everything. That is in northeast PA. Over a decade later, those people are still having water delivered. Then when that company got permission to frack wells that were drilled, but not fracks in an area more people had to get water delivered. When the EPA did testing in that area even more people were added to the list of people needing water delivered. It is still funny when people talk about their water being affected in church, but the companies all say, we never affected the water.

Thank you for this - it has helped me understand the process.

This guy could put me to sleep with his voice..... it’s just so soothing. 😴🤤

Btw - not all gas wells need fracking... Not all fracking is done horizontal drilling The depth of the well varies more than stated - it depends where the shale layers lie in the geology Not all shake gas wells also contain oil Most wells are double lined - so if the inside metal casing is damaged, it is protected my the concrete casing around it With love - a chemical engineer

Very explained info thanks a million👍

Great video, thank you.

We simply cannot produce enough power to crack the rock from the bottom of the well to the water table. The water table is above an impervious rock/clay layer. This layer remains intact thus not chemicals enter the ground water supply. While you might get some flaws in the casing, the gas will follow the easiest path, the well head. This issue with the water is the disposal. The options are injection wells and new facilities are being built to handle this water. The pads are designed to prevent spills, they work as swimming poles. The sealed pads, casing and disposal facilities are there. There are faults all over the country and earthquakes have been caused by mining, construction and even just because the land is decompressing from glaciers. While it isn't harmless it isn't the danger it is presented to. There is a a lot time, engineering, inspection, money and oversight over these operations. Many people working and building these facilities live in the areas, they care what happens to the land, they care about their family farm of the last 200 years. There are incidents and things happen, but they are isolated and few in number. Short term, this is the best option.

"OUR WATER IS ON FIRE!"

Thank you, very informative

You frac oil wells as well You actually frac in any rock containing oil if it is low permeability You dont use acid in hydraulic fraccing You use proppant not clay. Most chemical additive is guar, a natural product (made from beans)

This video is in our final exam studies... Students from our school would probably memorize the whole script... I guess I have to, too...

My teacher cant teach me herself so she told everyone to watch this -_-

Ted can take a boring subject and make it amazing

This is a marvelous video. It should be shown to those who have never seen this processes. 😺