KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) Applications for temporary water permits for oil and gas exploration in Kansas have reached a 30-year high thanks to new oil drilling in Kansas using horizontal hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method that relies on water.
The Kansas Division of Water Resources received more than 600 applications for water permits for oil and gas exploration in 2011, the largest number for that type of application since the 1980s.
Chesapeake Energy and SandRidge Energy are among companies securing land in Kansas, where they’ve begun drilling using horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into the well to help oil and gas flow.
SandRidge expects to have drill several wells in Kansas this year. Each completed well requires about 2.7 million gallons of water.
