Topic: Research and development.

Title: hydraulic fracturing and aquifer management, the fracking situation

One of the main alternatives that the national government has to satisfy the
energy demand of the country for the future is the implementation of the
hydraulic fracture, this is one of the most controversial issues in the country and
the world. This article seeks to present concepts that allow understanding the
issue of hydraulic fracturing.
This technique implies the injection of a liquid at high pressure that fractures
deep layers of porous rock, but of very low permeability, where the presence of
hydrocarbons has been detected; this type of deposits are called non-
conventional deposits.
Conceptual background:

Unconventional field: First of all, the "conventional" oil system consists of a

series of elements such as: the mother rock, the reservoir rock, the seal rock,
the rock column, a trap, and the preservation of the generated hydrocarbon. If
any of these elements are missing we have to talk about a Non-Conventional
Oilfield.

Much of the discussion and fears about the exploitation of these reservoirs are
centered on techniques based on multi-stage hydraulic fracture stimulation in
horizontal drilling in reservoirs in source rock. This is the technique known as
fracking.

Theoretical background:

In order to clarify the doubts generated by these projects, the national

government convened a commission of thirteen academics and experts from
the social, environmental, health, economic and engineering sciences. In six
months, using the Middle Magdalena Valley as a study region, the commission
researched and recorded the results in a report that is published on the website
www.energiaevoluciona.org.

Historical background:

This technique is not new. In the 1940`s year nineteen hundred and forty, some
research was done. Then George Mitchell appeared, who fought for years to
increase the efficiency and sustainability of the industry, while funding research
in the field of hydraulic fracturing. But only until Nick Steinseberger, proposed to
Mitchell a low cost version of his fracking concept. The idea was to infiltrate the
rocks with a much more natural compound, made of ninety-nine percent water.
and in just two years, its gas production had increased by a factor of two
hundred and fifty percent.

Legal background:
In Colombia today there are 13 exploration and production contracts for fracking
in unconventional fields located in Norte de Santander, Santander, Cesar,
Antioquia, Boyaca, Cundinamarca and Tolima.

The legal framework includes:

-Congress document 317 of the two thousand eight.

-Resolution 181495 of 2009 and 190742 of two thousand and twelve
-Decree 3004 of 2013.
-Resolution 90341 of 2014
-Resolution 0421 of 2014.
And agreement 3 of 2014.

Field of study:

The academic disciplines of this field of study are: Petroleum engineering,

environmental engineering, mining and energy engineering.

Application of the research results:

The field of application of this research is in the communities and territories

therefore this technique is applied in the social and environmental sphere.