Energy evolution: conceived in the 19140s, hydraulic fracturing has come of age as an economic, energy and environmental driver in Colorado.

• Author: Taylor, Mike

Hydraulic fracturing may he relatively new as a topic of popular discussion, but it's hardly a. newcomer to those in the energy business. The process that's come to be known as "fracking" has been practiced for more than 60 years, beginning with studies by engineers at Stanolind Oil & Gas Corp. in southwestern Kansas in 1947, leading to a patent for the technique two years later.

The process of fracturing rock with pressurized liquid to extract gas and oil has been fine-tuned and because it's enabled production from older wells and development of new production once considered impossible, the practice has revolutionized the U.S. energy outlook--and economies of states such as Colorado--to an extent that cannot be overstated.

In the United States to date, some 1.2 million oil and gas wells have been hydraulically fractured, and roughly 95 percent of completed oil and gas wells in the U.S. are being hydraulically fractured, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.

Hydraulically fractured wells currently make up 43 percent of the oil and 67 percent of the natural gas production in the United States.

Last year, Colorado enjoyed its best year in more than 50 years in terms of oil production, with 49.3 million barrels of oil produced, and through the first hail' of 2013, production was on pace to exceed the 2012 total.

Industry experts attribute Colorado's increased production largely to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing that energy companies are using to reach oil, most notably in the Niobrara rock formation north of Denver, aka the DJ Basin.

But what does oil and gas production--and by extension, hydraulic fracturing--mean to those living and working in the state?

A study undertaken by the Business Research Division of the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado Boulder set out to quantify the economic contributions of Colorado's oil and gas industry in 2012.

According to the study, released in August, the oil and gas industry contributed $29..6 billion to Colorado's economy and directly added almost $1.6 billion to public revenue in 2012. A major source of economic activity, according to the report, was employment.

"The broad oil and gas supply chain accounted for some 51,200 jobs, many of which are among Colorado's more lucrative positions; core jobs in drilling, extraction and support activities pay wages more than twice Colorado's average wage." the report concludes. "A major contributor of the public revenue...