Fracking started way back in Kansas in 1947 as an experiment meant to extract natural gas from limestone. In 1949 the American company Haliburton turned that experiment into a booming commercial enterprise. Now, what are the pros and cons of fracking since it is being done on a massive scale?By the 1950s fracking exploded onto the scene with more than 3,000 wells producing natural gas every month. The modern version of fracking most of us are familiar with got its start in the late 90s. US oil and natural gas production levels skyrocketed in the wake of this shale gas revolution and today around half of the crude oil produced in the US comes from fracking.