Hydraulic Fracturing
Pumping fluid and sand at high pressure to crack tight rock and create flow paths — the technique that, with horizontal drilling, unlocked shale.
Hydraulic fracturing — the "frac" job — is the process of pumping water, sand, and chemical additives down a well at pressure high enough to crack the surrounding rock. The fractures open up channels, and the sand (called proppant) holds them open so oil and gas can flow into the wellbore. Without it, the ultra-tight shale and other low-permeability rock that drives most modern production would not give up its hydrocarbons economically.
Fracking is part of the completion phase, done after the hole is drilled. Paired with the horizontal well, it is the one-two punch that set off the U.S. shale boom and made formations that were worthless for a century suddenly productive.
For a mineral owner, a frac on or near your tract is usually good news: it means real development capital is going into the ground and royalty checks should follow. The cost of the frac is borne by the working interest, not the royalty owner.