Shale Fracking in Texas

Gas flares near a wind-powered water pump at a hydrofracking installation in Karnes County. The shale oil boom is going strong south of San Antonio on a formation that stretches for about 300 miles across south Texas, one of the most prolific oil patches in the United States. Flaring of excess gas in drilling for oil is also a byproduct that's vented into the atmosphere releasing all sorts of volatile organic chemicals, causing air pollution and releasing climate changing methane gas.

Unique identifier: GP0STOY76

Type: Image

Shoot date: 19/03/2015

Locations: North America, Texas, United States of America

Credit line: © Les Stone / Greenpeace

Ranking: ★★★★★★ (B)

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Shale Fracking in Texas

The Eagle Ford shale play stretches for about 300 miles across south Texas, one of the most prolific oil patches in the United States. Increasing oil production in the Eagle Ford Shale region, the Bakken formation in North Dakota and gas production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale Formations of Pennsylvania and Ohio made the United States the world's largest hydrocarbon producer for three years including 2014 Hydraulic Fracturing techniques to recover oil and natural gas from the shale, consume an enormous amount of water, as much as three million gallons per well. Resulting tracking fluids polluted with brine, chemicals and minerals, are stored in ponds or injected into underground wells impacting people and livestock.

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