Fracking making waves again

The controversial drilling technology, that boosted US oil and gas production and transformed global energy markets in the process, is making waves again

Chief executives from two of the world’s largest oil companies slammed European laws restricting hydraulic fracking as the global gas industry gathered in Paris for the World Gas Conference. Rex Tillerson, chief executive of US supermajor ExxonMobil, and Eldar Saetre, chief executive of Norwegian state-backed energy company Statoil, both called on EU policy makers to allow the drilling process, where a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is pumped down wells at high pressure to break underground rock so that oil and gas can flow to the surface.  Fracking has existed since the late 1940s, but technological advancements in recent years, such as horizontal and directional drilling have sparked