Public fear about the hydraulic fracturing process has caused controversy for operators working in unconventional gas shales. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission said they soon will require operators to submit details about the chemicals in frac fluids in addition to currently required standard documentation.
According to the commission, beginning Sept. 15, it will be mandatory for oil and gas companies working within the state to make public certain operations information, including a full disclosure of the chemicals used in fracing fluid. "I think if there's an incident, people should have a better feel for what went into the wells," Commission Supervisor Tom Doll said in an interview with the Casper Star-Tribune.
According to Doll, the new requirements will allow citizens access to information that operators have previously regarded as trade secrets, including what the specific chemicals are and their level of concentration in frac water, as well as what is recovered from the well after the stimulation process is completed. "We're going to make it a little more difficult for companies to claim information is confidential," he said.
While officials in Wyoming are forcing information out of the companies, operators are taking a different approach in the Marcellus shale.
Dallas-based privately held E&P company Chief Oil & Gas LLC explained on its website that the company has voluntarily disclosed information about hydraulic fracturing additives in the completion process of natural gas wells in the Marcellus shale.
Michael Radler, chief operating officer of the company, said in a press release it will submit detailed information about additives used in the completion process to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) beginning Oct. 1.
"It is our hope that this voluntary disclosure of the additives used at each well site, along with the volumes, dilution factors and classifications will help alleviate the public's concern and increase the open, honest, and transparent communication that has been a Chief value since its start in 1994," he said. "The Marcellus shale is an enormous opportunity for all who live miles above it and Chief is fully committed to working to achieve the proper balance while developing this game-changing U.S. natural gas resource."
On July 14, Fort Worth-based Range Resources Corp., Fort Worth, Texas, (NYSE: RRC) announced its voluntary initiative to disclose Marcellus shale hydraulic fracturing additives, submitting its first report in the beginning of August 2010.
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