API, Oil and Gas Industry Celebrate 65 Years of Hydraulic Fracturing
Fracking technology has helped U.S. on path to energy independence
The American Petroleum Institute and the oil and gas industry celebrated a milestone March 17: the 65th birthday of hydraulic fracturing. In those decades, the technology has helped the United States become a world leader in natural gas production.
“Americans have long been energy pioneers, from the 1800s when the first wells were drilled to today,” said Erik Milito, API Director of Upstream and Industry Operations. “As part of that history, on March 17, 1949, we developed the technology to safely unlock shale and other tight formations, and now the U.S. is the world’s largest producer of oil and natural gas.”