Fracking In North Dakota Revolutionized The US Energy Industry -- WSJ

Inside America's fracking boom: fracking has revolutionized the energy industry and changed geopolitics. But what does the process of removing natural gas and oil from rock actually look like?

Energy companies have come to North Dakota because when they frack the Bakken, light sweet crude oil comes out of the rock. The wells here produce a bit of natural gas also, and no one wants to wait around for a connection to a gas pipeline, so they flare it off.

At night, the onyx sky flickers with gas being burned off. Mr. Byington oversees the movements of the couple dozen coverall-clad workers. His directive is simple enough: force more than one million gallons of liquid into the Irene Kovaloff under enough pressure to crumple the toughest car Detroit can turn out. When Mr. Byington and his crew have finished, this section of the Bakken will be filled with thousands of tiny fractures, smashed into pieces like a shattered dinner plate.

The Irene Kovaloff, a recently drilled, long, and narrow hole in the ground, went straight down 2 miles until it reached the Bakken Shale, and then made a gradual 90-degree turn and continued for another two more miles. Before workers transform the Irene Kovaloff into a producing oil well, they must make sure everything is secure.

Some workers spend their shift outside, smelling musty diesel and pulling their hoodies tight to keep out the cold. Another group heads climbs into a temperature-controlled trailer called the data van. They take off their hard hats and strip down to T-shirts under their coveralls. There is a coffee urn and a car stereo bolted into a wall panel. On a recent night, Pink Floyd's "The Dark Side of the Moon" accompanied a frack.

Mr. Byington heads inside. Inside the van, several workers with large headsets sit in gray swivel chairs bolted to the floor. They work at a long desk, with computers and monitors displaying pressures, volumes, pH balances, and a dozen other measurements. The van feels a bit like a NASA command center. But rather than clean-cut engineers, the workers are scruffy. There is an assortment of beards and mustaches, and hair spilling out from under baseball caps. The North Dakota oil field has boomed so quickly that certain basic necessities—an appointment with a barber included—are hard to find. 

The story continues at the link.

Also, an author promoting his book: fracking has made the US the envy of the world when it comes to energy. One hundred wells/day are being fracked.