As public debate swirls around the benefits and risks of hydraulic fracturing in shale plays, state regulatory agencies have been thrust into the hot seat. Those in the throes of reviewing their policies and procedures might want to take a look at North Dakota, said Lynn Helms, director of the North Dakota Industrial Commission (NDIC), Department of Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Division. Helms spoke at the American Petroleum Institute’s workshop on Commitment to Excellence in Hydraulic Fracturing, held in Pittsburgh in early October.

“We are developing an oilfield the size of the state of West Virginia, and we are going to hydraulically fracture every square mile,” said Helms. And, the citizens of North Dakota largely accept and understand hydraulic fracturing and the impacts that accompany large-scale shale development, he asserted.

Helms credits two major efforts for this positive outlook.

“We have conducted about 28 town hall meetings in small communities around North Dakota,” he said. “We educate people how this process works, what the geology is like, what we are doing to the rocks, and how we regulate it.” Presenters include a local political subdivision lobbyist, geologist, landman, state regulator and industry representative. “We talk about hydraulic fracturing and all the other types of impacts that go on.”

Additionally, each year the NDIC hosts 50 K-through-12 teachers in a four-day continuing education seminar. During the 20 years this program has been running, it has put 1,000 teachers in the classroom who understand the industry.

The Roughrider State also boasts a three-pronged approach to hydraulic-fracturing regulation.

The Water Commission oversees water appropriations and guards against withdrawals that exceed recharge. Although the water needs of the oil and gas industry are sizeable—estimated at 30 million gallons a day for the next 20 years—North Dakota has abundant supplies. Lake Sakakawea, a massive reservoir on the Missouri River, can easily handle the demand. One inch contains 10 billion gallons of water, said Helms.

For its part, the NDIC focuses on well construction and hydraulic fracturing. All the state’s groundwater aquifers occur in the top 2,500 feet of the subsurface, and operators must drill that portion of a well with freshwater fluids, case and cement back to surface, and perform pressure tests. Intermediate casing is also required, again cemented back to surface casing and tested. Beyond that, the state is now requesting a frac string in the lateral. “That brings us to five layers of protection,” said Helms.

Operators submit their cement bond logs to the NDIC for review on every well prior to fracturing. About 10% of the time, the cement jobs are not adequate and the NDIC stipulates repairs before fracturing can begin.

North Dakota regulators are very comfortable with hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken, largely due to a massive infield microseismic-monitoring program. Whiting Petroleum Corp., in partnership with the state, installed a buried seismic array in Sanish Field and has monitored more than 200 frac jobs to date.

“We understand the mechanics of hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken formation—how high it fractures and how far out the fractures go—and we are willing to share that with the public,” said Helms.

Additionally, the NDIC regulates water flowback. In the Bakken, the first 20% of flowback water from a frac job is treatable and can be recycled, but the remaining water is too salty. Storage in open pits is not allowed, so the water is injected into underground disposal wells. Fortunately for North Dakota, the state-wide Dakota formation is a high-capacity saline aquifer that occurs about 2,500 feet below potable water.

Finally, if there is a discharge into the environment, the Health Department steps in. It coordinates the cleanup, including working with local emergency services and ensuring that proper notifications are made. Incidents do occur, but they number about four to six a year, noted Helms.

“We have been regulating the life cycle of hydraulic fracturing for decades. This isn’t anything new,” he said.

“We call it ‘fracing without fear.’”

For more on hydraulic fracturing, see UGcenter.com.