Oil giant BP plans to restart deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico this summer just a year after the Deepwater Horizon explosion that sparked the worst oil spill in history. The group hopes to start work on 10 wells in the Gulf after being granted permission by US regulators to continue work halted at the time of the drilling moratorium imposed after the spill. The move is likely to fuel public anger, coming just a year after the devastating oil spill, which happened when a BP well exploded, killing 11 workers and causing an environmental crisis. Source
The U.S. interior secretary on Monday rejected media reports that BP was striking a deal to resume deepwater drilling in the Gulf of Mexico a year after the worst oil spill in U.S. history. UK media have said BP is in talks with the U.S. government to restart drilling at existing wells less than a year after a blast on the Deepwater Horizon rig ruptured BP's underwater Macondo well. Source
Hydraulic fracturing (called "fracking," or "Hydrofracking") is a process that results in the creation of fractures in rocks. The fracturing is done from a wellbore drilled into reservoir rock formations to increase the rate and ultimate recovery of oil and natural gas.
Hydraulic fractures may be natural or man-made and are extended by internal fluid pressure which opens the fracture and causes it to extend through the rock. Natural hydraulic fractures include volcanic dikes, sills and fracturing by ice as in frost weathering. Man-made fluid-driven fractures are formed at depth in a borehole and extend into targeted formations. The fracture width is typically maintained after the injection by introducing a proppant into the injected fluid. Proppant is a material, such as grains of sand, ceramic, or other particulates, that prevent the fractures from closing when the injection is stopped. Source