Blog Description

Fraccing With Two C's is a blog focused on the highly controversial topic of hydraulic fracturing stimulation in the oil and gas industry. The title of this blog stems from the slang term for hydraulic fracturing as it is spelled in the oil and gas industry, which differs from that commonly used in the media and by the general public, 'fracking'. Fracture stimulation is also commonly referred to as fracing, but at Colorado School of Mines the Petroleum Engineering Department generally spells the slang term with two c's.

This blog will address some of the concerns, misconceptions, and recent news on this topic. Though personal opinions are present, we will remain factual and provide evidence for all discussions. We welcome comments of all sorts, whether they agree or disagree with our opinions, as long as they are appropriate for a classroom setting, since this is a project for a science communication course.

Thursday, October 18, 2012

The Future of Fracturing

Ahh.... it is election season. Who doesn't love following the 'extremely well-informed' political status updates and debates on Facebook and getting to watch all of the lovely political ads on TV? All sarcasm aside, there are a lot of campaigns revolving around the oil and gas industry, and no matter what your stance is, it is important to become informed on the issues that will be on your local ballot!


As Bill mentioned in his blog post on September 24th, there are a lot of concerns about oil and gas operations in residential areas in Longmont, Colorado. Longmont is a part of Boulder County, which has two oil and gas issues on the ballot. One, question 2A, concerns gas utility service franchise and the other, question 300, is about hydraulic fracturing. As Bill discussed, Longmont is voting on prohibiting hydraulic fracturing within city limits. Main Street Longmont, a group fighting this question, by calling it an "unreasonable job killer." There is a lot of scrutiny over the funding of this group, where the oil and gas industry has already donated $447,500. This group also has a link posted on its website to a Denver Post Editorial that discusses how a draft of Colorado's new hydraulic fracturing rules and regulations is headed in the right and "enlightened" direction. My guess is that this is to show that the restrictions in Longmont are not necessary, and that progress is being made on the state level. The article also states that "Those who would like to stop fracking altogether of course won't be placated." Is this really the case though? If question 300 is passed, no hydraulic fracturing will be allowed in the city of Longmont.

We put together a video of our opinion on this topic. We realize that the oil and gas industry is full of some real characters, but believe that they mean well and wouldn't purposefully endanger the community. Safety is a high priority in the industry and the importance of it isn't lost on anyone.



If you guys have any questions about hydraulic fracturing, feel free to comment on the blog or check out these great Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission resources: Hydraulic Fracturing Presentation and Information on Hydraulic Fracturing.

-Fraccing With Two C's Bloggers

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