Niobrara Shale Hydraulic Fracturing Fact Sheet

Hydraulic fracturing, commonly referred to as fracing, is a proven technological advancement that allows producers to safely recover oil and natural gas resources from deep shale formations. This discovery has the potential to not only dramatically reduce our reliance on foreign fuel imports, but also to do so in an economically and environmentally responsible manner. Simply put, deep shale oil and natural gas development is critical to Colorado and Wyoming's energy needs and America's economic renewal.

Experts have known for years that oil and natural gas deposits existed in deep shale formations, but until recently the vast quantities of oil and natural gas in these formations were not able to be technically or economically recovered. Today, through the use of hydraulic fracturing and sophisticated horizontal drilling techniques, extraordinary amounts of oil and natural are being safely produced from deep shale formations from across the country.

Hydraulic fracturing has been used by the industry since the 1940s and has become a key element of developing these resources worldwide. Properly conducted modern fracing is a highly engineered, well controlled, sophisticated and safe engineered procedure.