About 10% of the world's crude oil and 32% of its natural gas is reached via fracking

Fracking provides access to fossil fuel reserves locked in underground rock

Using a pressurized fluid mixture that is over 90% water, cracks are created in shale about 2 miles deep to release trapped oil and natural gas. The process uses an average of 3 to 6 million gallons of water per well, which can strain local water supplies.

The value of fracking is dependent on international energy markets

Russia's war in Ukraine spurred calls in the US to increase fracking, which has historically reduced dependence on foreign nations and increased national security. However, some experts argue that renewable energy provides even better energy independence, as fracking investments may not be worthwhile if importing fossil fuels is significantly cheaper.

The world derives more of its energy from oil than from any other resource

Coal and gas are second and third, respectively, in terms of where the bulk of the world’s energy consumption stems from. These interactive charts can help you visualize where the world sources the most of its energy.

The fracking industry has created hundreds of thousands of jobs since 1949

The method of extracting fossil fuels from shale rock formations has saved Americans an estimated $23B annually in energy costs. Every year, fracking generates billions of gallons of wastewater and causes methane—a greenhouse gas that is over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide—to leak into the atmosphere.

As of 2022, the US accounted for nearly one-fifth of global oil production

By 2022, the US had cemented its position as the world’s top oil producer with close to 18 million barrels per day. This eclipsed Saudi Arabia and Russia.

As of 2024, approximately 44% of Americans support fracking

This makes the method less popular than carbon-free forms of energy production, such as solar, wind, and nuclear power, but more popular than coal mining. Support for fracking increased 7% from 2020 to 2024, primarily due to increased support from Republicans and older Americans.

Understanding why the US can't use its own crude oil and depends on global markets

Before advancements in fracking technology made lighter shale oil readily available, US refineries had been built and optimized for decades to process heavier oil from other countries with high profitability. Despite being able to refine lighter oil, US oil companies can operate with better margins by exporting it to other nations whose refineries are optimized for it and importing heavier oil, for which the US has the infrastructure.

Unless prices of fossil fuels rise significantly, their production is expected to slow

US oil and natural gas production skyrocketed from 2000 to 2020, largely due to advances in fracking. However, weak global energy prices have prevented this boom from translating into increased profits for fossil fuel companies.

In 2019, the US became a net energy exporter thanks to the fracking boom

The US began exporting more energy than it consumed that year, making it a net energy exporter. Energy imports have decreased every year since 2007, as improved technology has increased the number of accessible domestic oil and natural gas reserves.

As of 2024, the nation with the largest proven oil reserves is Venezuela

According to estimates derived from available geological and engineering data, the South American country possesses about 303 billion barrels of underground crude oil, followed by Saudi Arabia (267.2 billion) and Iran (208.6 billion). Many of the largest reserves are held by members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

View a ranking of the countries with the largest helium reserves, led by the US

Estimated at 20.6 billion cubic meters (727.5 billion cubic feet) as of 2022, US helium reserves are more than double those of Qatar, the second nation on the list. Leading the world in natural gas production, from which helium is recovered, the US also leads global helium production, which helps mitigate shortages resulting from overseas geopolitical tensions.

China is the world’s largest importer of crude oil

China is pushing to reduce its reliance on US oil to limit geopolitical vulnerabilities. It’s rapidly becoming the world’s renewable energy superpower.

As of 2024, China is the largest overall contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions

Due to its large population, the nation's per capita emissions continue to lag behind those of the US, Canada, Russia, Australia, and Saudi Arabia. The Arab country has experienced the most significant increase in per capita greenhouse gas emissions since 1990, now leading the world at 22.8 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per capita.

Trace the rise of oil: from early drilling to today’s global power

This animated map video vividly illustrates how petroleum shaped global politics and industry—from 18th-century uses and 19th-century drilling booms in North America to today’s OPEC strategies, shale revolution, and geopolitical oil influence.

As of 2022, Canada has the most planned critical mineral mines

Wealthy nations are tapping into their domestic critical mineral reserves and buying up mines in poorer countries. The US, the UK, Canada, Australia, and China are taking the lead, with Chinese operations spanning all continents except Antarctica.

Methane leaks during natural gas processing reduce the gas's overall cleanliness

Natural gas is advertised as a cleaner fossil fuel because it emits 50% less carbon dioxide than oil and coal when burned. Supporting analysis only considers end-use combustion and excludes total emissions generated by extraction, shipping, and processing.

Demystifying the claim that crude oil is inorganically created and a renewable resource

The abiogenic petroleum theory holds that fossil fuels originate in Earth's mantle and are constantly replenished, rather than formed by microorganisms over millions of years. While inorganic chemical processes can produce simple hydrocarbons, the range of complex molecules found in crude oil suggests an origin from a diverse set of organisms. Isotope analyses of these molecules also support the model that they originated from living things that preferentially take up certain isotopes over others.

A breakdown of where water is located on Earth and where it is most used worldwide

About 97% of Earth's water volume is in the oceans, 2% is trapped in polar ice caps and glaciers, and almost all of the remaining 1% is found in groundwater reserves. Roughly 70% of the easily accessible surface water in rivers and lakes—0.01% of all water—is used for agriculture, contributing to 20% of the world's population living in water-scarce areas and 2.1 billion people lacking access to clean drinking water.

The price of crude oil accounts for roughly half of the price displayed at the gas pump

While the price of crude oil has the largest impact on the price of gas, the cost of refinement, taxes, and distribution jointly make up nearly half of how gas is priced. Because of the many factors that influence the price of gas, eliminating taxes during expensive periods might not effectively lower prices.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Texas is the state with the most energy sector employees

Texas has more than 990,000 individuals in the energy sector—roughly eight out of every 100 workers statewide. Oil and natural gas production account for more than 289,000 workers.

86% of the world's 12,321 nuclear warheads are held by just two countries

As of early 2026, the US and Russia together control about 86% of the world's more than 12,000 nuclear warheads—over 9,600 in military stockpiles. None of the seven other nuclear nations holds more than 600.

See where Americans spend the most on gas

Drivers in Wyoming spend the most on gas per month at about $279, while New York drivers pay the least at $132. Longer driving distances have a significant impact on how much American drivers spend on gas.

Visualizing the world's $261T in investable assets

Nearly half of the world's portfolio of stocks and bonds originate in the US. Roughly 1% of all investable assets are in the form of cryptocurrency.

The massive sinkholes of China

Parts of China's limestone-rich terrain is fertile ground for massive caves, where some of the world's largest sinkholes are located. Hidden away in dense, lush forests, geologists are frequently discovering new sinkholes to explore. This piece...

One Chinese businessman controls 70% of the fireworks entering the US

A warehouse explosion in 2008 forced all pyrotechnic shipments to travel through the Shanghai port under three special permits Ding Yan Zhong was given. Since then, he has established a near-monopoly over the global fireworks distribution chain, with logistics and shipping hubs in China and California. (Some users may experience a paywall.)

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

Louisiana's 'Cancer Alley' is infamous for having some of the highest industrial pollution, toxic air emissions, and cancer risks in the US.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict is the largest ground war in Europe since World War II in casualties, forces mobilized, and displacement of civilians.

Some renewable energy sources may weaken the resiliency of electric grids by removing outage buffers provided by coal- and natural gas-fired plants, which provide the system with more time to find a new power source if a plant goes down.

As of 2025, the most cited papers in science include a review of graphene, methods to improve image recognition, streamlining electron density calculations, and optimizing protein studies.

Watch how deep-sea mining equipment collects and processes polymetallic nodules—metal-rich, potato-shaped rocks—from the ocean floor and creates environmentally damaging plumes of sediments.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

See the 25 of the best photos of auroras from around the world.

In 2026, Finland was named the world's happiest country for the ninth consecutive year based on its wealth, social safety network, and high life expectancy, among other factors.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

11 people died from firework injuries in the US in 2024.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps is independent of Iran's regular army and is one of the most powerful and influential military-political organizations in the Middle East.

Volcanic activity may have triggered the Black Death by spewing gases that led to crop failures in Europe, thus forcing the import of grain ships with plague-infested fleas.

Most of the observable universe's volume consists of voids and supervoids—enormous regions of space with little to no galaxies, stars, or light.

The distributor behind 'Rocky Horror' pulled the film from its scheduled national release, believing it would be a failure, though it eventually amassed a dedicated fanbase through midnight showings, a trend that continues over 50 years later.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Animal phobias are likely the most common type of phobias, followed by an extreme fear of heights.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Before humans, the Soviet Union and the United States sent animals—including apes, dogs, and cats—to space during the Space Race.

Children are now three times more likely to say they want to be a YouTuber when they grow up than an astronaut, with some even attending 'YouTube camps' that teach kids how to create content for the platform.

In 1963, a basement renovation in Turkey revealed a passageway to a hidden, multilevel underground city that once housed as many as 20,000 people

Brandi Chastain, the star of the 1999 US victory over China in the 1999 Women's World Cup, was a last-second choice to take the penalty kick that sealed the victory.