Black gold boom: Texas prepares to drill 3,000 oil wells in a YEAR that could deliver major boost for U.S. economy

If the predictions prove true then it is a discovery that will have a dramatic effect on the U.S. economy.



For experts believe that the astonishing finds in 20 new onshore oil fields could, together, increase the country's oil output by 25 per cent in just ten years. This would reduce dependence on imported fuel and risky off-shore drilling.



The Texas field, also known as Eagle Ford, is one of the 20 and more than a dozen companies plan to drill 3,000 wells over the next 12 months in Catarina, South Texas.

Black gold: The discovery that oil can be extracted in the same way as natural gas has drawn massive investment to South Texas

Just five years ago the oil fields were considered useless. But then an engineer discovered that oil could be extracted in the same way as natural gas - through a process of hydraulic fracturing - and U.S. oil giant EOG bought thousands of acres of land in Texas.



Hydraulic fracturing or fracking uses water, sand and chemicals to extract oil from rocks.

The method is used to to unlock natural gas but can also be used to release huge quantities of oil.



In a further development, Texas could soon become the first state to require drilling companies to publicly disclose the chemicals they use to crack tight rock formations in their search for natural gas and oil.



Legislation approved last night could prompt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other states to make similar rules.



At issue is 'fracking'. The contentious technique allows oil and gas companies to permeate tight shale formations and release once out-of-reach minerals.



Drillers pump millions of gallons of chemically laced water into the ground to break the rock, allowing natural gas to flow.

Declining: Oil discovery will help take pressure off Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, where production has fallen

Many companies refuse to say what chemicals are used, arguing it could harm their competitive edge. Others fear the chemicals could taint groundwater or soil.



The sheer amount of water required in the process has also posed concerns as the state has a problem with droughts.



Despite these environmental concerns, drillers have been given the go-ahead.



The black gold boom is set to create more than two million jobs and bring in tens of billion dollars to the region after Chinese and Norwegian firms invested in the fields.

Aubrey McClendon, chief executive of Chesapeake Energy told the New York Times: 'It’s the one thing we have seen in our adult lives that could take us away from imported oil.'



'What if we have found three of the world’s biggest oil fields in the last three years right here in the US? How transformative could that be for the U.S. economy?'



Drillers believe that the oil fields will be able to produce up to three million barrels a day by 2020, from their current half a million barrels output.



Despite having its first well drilled just three years ago, The Eagle Ford is already making 100,000 barrels a day and could reach 420,000 by 2015.



The oil fields have transformed Texas with house prices doubling as a result of the oil boom and unemployment is down by a half.



Further north in North Dakota, the Bakken field is now producing 400,000 barrels a day after discovering a trickle just four years ago.

