What Is Fracking? This Simple Animation Is The Best Guide We've Ever Seen

U.S. oil production remains at its highest level since the mid-80s, and it's all thanks to incredible developments in hydraulic fracturing.

Marathon Oil has a great animation on the basics of hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking." We found it thanks to Mark Perry's blog.

Intended for novices, it explains how horizontal drilling works and explains the roles of water and sand.

Not surprisingly, the video doesn't spend much time on the controversies surrounding the environmental risks. That discussion is for another time.

For now, check out these key points from the animation that will help any novice speak more intelligently about fracking.

Note: Ben Duronio no longer works at Business Insider.