hydraulic fracturing

English

Noun

hydraulic fracturing (uncountable)

  1. (oil industry) A technique in which a mixture of water and sand is forced down an oil well (or similar) in order to create fractures in the oil-bearing rock and thus release more oil.
    • 2011 April 17, “Chemicals Were Injected Into Wells, Report Says”, in The New York Times[1], archived from the original on 14 August 2022:
      The chemicals were used by companies during a drilling process known as hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, which involves the high-pressure injection of a mixture of water, sand and chemical additives into rock formations deep underground.

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