Deep underground lie stores of once-inaccessible natural gas. There’s a technology, called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” that can extract this natural gas.
Fracking is done by creating horizontal veins off a vertical well, and then pumping that horizontal well full of water and sand at an extremely high pressure. This causes fissures in the rock that branch off, releasing gas, oil or water into the cracks created. The gases and oils are forced into the horizontal wells and then flow up to storage tanks with the water that comes back up.
Fracking brings with it much controversy, but the first step to understanding it is to show how it works.
Elara Systems took the time to develop an animation and voiceover that gives a simple, clear explanation of the technology.