Producing Natural Gas in Unconventional Ways Adapted from Information by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Hydraulic fracturing is a technique used to extract gas from unconventional reservoirs, which can only be cost-effectively produced through special stimulation techniques. The main technologies enabling gas and oil development in new areas are hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, which specifically target unconventional gas reservoirs such as shale, coalbed, and tight sand. The United States has seen a surge in shale gas production, with formations found in various regions, including areas without a history of gas and oil extraction. Coalbed methane was initially extracted from coal mines to reduce the risk of explosion, but today it is captured and used as a source of energy. Tight sands are a type of gas-bearing sandstone or carbonate with low permeability, often requiring hydraulic fracturing to release gas. Hydraulic fracturing stimulates the flow of natural gas or oil by creating fractures in rock formations. Wells can be drilled hundreds to thousands of feet below the land surface, and may include horizontal sections. Fractures are generated by pumping fluids at high pressure into a target rock formation. These fluids, composed of water, proppant, and chemical additives, open and enlarge fractures. The newly created fracture is held open by proppants, such as sand or ceramic pellets, and can extend several hundred feet away from the wellbore. After injection, fluid returns to the surface through the wellbore, known as flowback and produced water, containing injected chemicals and naturally occurring materials like brines, metals, radionuclides, and hydrocarbons. If underground injection is not an option, the flowback and produced water may be treated and reused or processed by a wastewater treatment facility before being discharged into surface water. G&O
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