Nick Snow
OGJ Washington Editor
WASHINGTON, DC, Dec. 2 -- Three trade associations representing natural gas producers endorsed the Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission and Groundwater Protection Council’s joint effort to create a state-based public registry of hydraulic fracturing fluid ingredients.
The registry is expected to be launched this month and would be the first time information about frac fluids’ compositions was collected and made publicly available, according to officials from the Independent Petroleum Association of America, American Exploration & Production Council, and America’s Natural Gas Alliance.
“The natural gas community is committed to the safe and responsible development of this clean energy resource,” ANGA Pres. Regina Hopper said on Dec. 2. “That commitment means being responsive to the questions raised in communities where we work. It is our hope that with this greater transparency will come greater public confidence in the safety of the hydraulic fracturing process.”
IPAA Pres. Barry Russell added, “States have effectively regulated the use and risks of hydraulic fracturing for decades. They are the only appropriate organizations to undertake the challenge of collecting and presenting information on the chemicals needed for the fracturing process.”
AXPC Pres. Bruce Thompson, meanwhile, stated, “The work that our member companies have put into reaching a consensus to participate in this registry is testament to the commitment they have made to making these disclosures and earning the public trust.”
Two-stage process
Their joint announcement noted that GWPC announced in September that it would create a voluntary, state-based frac fluid ingredient registry which would be publicly accessible online in two stages.
The first is launching a web site where companies would voluntarily provide data for each well drilled on federal, state, and private land. The second would take place over the next 2-3 years with development of customized solutions for state regulators, the associations said.
They added that the system would be an extension of the risk-based data management system that most IOGCC producing states already use.
An oil and gas industry witness at US Interior Sec. Ken Salazar’s Nov. 30 forum on hydraulic fracturing on public lands also endorsed the idea.
“We support disclosure, but we have to be responsible with it,” said Fred Toney, vice-president for US pressure pumping at Baker Hughes Inc.’s BJ Services Co. subsidiary. “We’ve been in this business for over five decades and need to protect our formulas. Our scientists are developing new products, such as a biocide not unlike what your dentist uses to disinfect his instruments.”
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US Department of the Interior.
File photo from PDVSA..
