Hydraulic Fracturing of Oil and Gas Wells: Enhances the recovery of oil and gas from wells by fracturing formation rocks to release the hydrocarbons, allowing them to flow more easily through the rocks to the wellbore. Not all formations require such supplementary well completion techniques to permit extraction of hydrocarbons. Some rocks naturally contain abundant fractures and connected pore space that, although often only a millimeter or less across, allow fluids to move freely through them.