3. A mix of water and chemicals is injected at high pressure to fracture the shale. Sand is included to keep the cracks open.

By Brian O'Keefe, assistant managing editor @FortuneMagazine - Last updated April 16 2012: 6:54 AM ET
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America's energy job machine is heating up

Deep-sea drilling and fracking are helping to unearth abundant supplies of oil and gas. The coming energy renaissance could be just the elixir the U.S. economy needs.

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